DMW execs to fly to Saudi Arabia to discuss unpaid wages of OFWs --- Jervis Manahan, ABS-CBN News

MANILA — The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said Thursday its officials would leave for Saudi Arabia to continue discussions on the unpaid salaries of overseas Filipino workers who had worked for Saudi companies that declared bankruptcy following the economic crisis in 2015. Undersecretary Bernard Olalia will be flying this June, while Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac will follow him in July. Some 10,000 claimants, who were former OFWs in Saudi, are still waiting for their backpay after being repatriated in 2016 due to the financial crisis in the country the year prior. Saudi Arabia has issued around 1,500 checks but thousands more are still claiming backpays. Saudi finally allocates funds for OFWs with unpaid wages: DMW "Kahapon lang, nagkaroon si Usec. Olalia ng pagpupulong sa beneficiaries to assure them na meron tayong patuloy na pakikipag-usap sa Saudi side," Cacdac said. (Yesterday, Usec. Olalia met with beneficiaries to assure them we have continued dialogues with the Saudi Arabia officials.) Cacdac said Olalia will proceed to Saudi Arabia to follow up the second and future releases of the still unpaid wages. "Ako naman kakausapin ko yung aking counterpart sa Ministry of Labor nila, we home magkaroon na ng second release, we have been assured naman na there will be future fund releases," Cacdac added. (I will speak to the head of the Saudi Ministry of Labor, we hope there will be a second fund release.) "May mga lumalapit pa rin saying their names are not being processed, yun ang kausap ni Usec. Olalia," he said. (There are people who say their names are not being processed.) Aside from unpaid claims, Cacdac will also discuss with Saudi Arabia safe and transparent recruitment processes. On Monday, Cacdac signed memorandums of understanding with the National Confederation of Cooperatives (NATCO) and the Development Action for Women Network (DAWN) to further support OFWs. This will help OFWs invest in cooperatives via protected deposits, helping them increase income for their families.

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