I felt heartbroken learning that some of our modern day heroes in Saudi had to resort to visiting garbage sites just to feed themselves. Why has this happened? Read the article.
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Breakfast, lunch or dinner for this ten distressed overseas Filipino workers (OFWS) in Saudi Arabia comes straight from the garbage.
Filipino migrants rights group based in Middle East said the OFWs-scouring-garbage incident which the group had documented on Wednesday involved 10 OFWs working for a local establishment in Al-Khobar, eastern part of Saudi Arabia, who had stopped working since July of this year over labor malpractices.
For some, this is not unusual or not new at all, added Monterona.
“The 10 OFWs went through the garbage hoping that they could look for food or something that is edible to feed their hungry stomach,” said Migrante-Middle East regional coordinator John Leonard Monterona, citing report from Migrante officials in Al-Khobar.
Monterona’s group identified the 10 distressed OFWs as Bonifacio Bayubay, Perlito T. Garcia, Marlon K. Ciervo, John Ryan C. Lupega, Ronie M. Villegas, Demetrio Galia, Rodel B. Lonsame, Percival S. Bibat Jr., Wilfred C. Elbanol, and Jonathan S. Querido, all were deployed by PH-based recruitment agency YHMD International Manpower Services, which latest known address is Ground Floor, Gedisco Center, #1564 A. Mabini St., Ermita, Manila.
In a statement to Manila Channel, Monterona said the OFWs were hired as construction workers and some equipment operator/technician by Ali-Fahad Al Huraish Establishment, a contracting company, which main office is in Al-Hasa, Saudi Arabia.
According to Monterona, the OFWs had sought the assistance of PH labor attaché Adam Musa to file a case against their employer as they complain contract substitution, illegal salary deduction, salary downgrading, no sick leave, no medical insurance, delayed payment of salary, driving without official driver’s license, non-payment of overtime work, working more than 8-hour a day, poor accommodation, no bathroom and no drinking water.
“Labor Attache Musa, after several case dialogues, is convincing the OFWs to go back to their work and forget their complaints,” Monterona citing the OFWs during conversation with Migrante officers.
However the 10 distressed Filipino workers stood by their decision to stop working as they look forward to filing a case at Saudi labor court against their employer, which Labor attaché Musa is not acting upon, Monterona said.
“This is gross negligence on the part of Labor Attache Musa. It is his foremost duty to provide whatever assistance the distress OFWs need such as guiding them, including documentation, in filing labor case versus their employer,” Monterona adding, “Musa should render his resignation or he should be recalled by DoLE secretary Rosalinda Baldoz.”
Meanwhile another 17 OFWs working for Al-Naseeb Establishment also in Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia also threatened to stage hunger strike to protest what they call ‘PH officials inaction’ and ‘no assistance’ provided to them.
The OFWs had stopped working since May 2012 over labor malpractices.
Due to increasing incident of labor cases involving OFWs in Saudi Arabia, Migrante-Middle East has called on to Pres. Benigno Aquino III to act swiftly on Filipino workers in distress abroad.
“We are calling the attention of Pres. Aquino, who seems to be very busy endorsing administration’s senatorial candidates, to instruct his labor honchos to attend on the distressed OFWs in Saudi Arabia. We also call on Vice President Jojomar Binay to intervene on OFWs cases in his capacity as presidential adviser on OFWs concerns,” Monterona stressed.
“Pres. Aquino has been in office for more than 2 years and he failed to present his administration’s blue print to solve the country’s forced migration among the millions of unemployed and underemployed. Per POEA records, there are around 4,200 Filipinos per day leaving the country to work and look for jobs abroad,” Monterona stressed.
Also Monterona slammed Akbayan Rep. Walden Bello, chair of the Congressional special Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs (COWA), who seems too reluctant to call for an investigation on numerous cases of labor malpractices and abuses involving OFWs.
“Walden Bello should not be in Congress, in the first place. Neither he nor his Akbayan party belongs to the so called marginalized and underrepresented sectors having them opportunistically established an Aquino-Akbayan power-duo,” said Monterona.
Monterona added that surging cases of forced migration and abused Filipino workers need immediate attention.
“On the past, we have documented distressed OFWs hunting lizard in the dessert, ‘selling’ blood, and those who were forced to go through the garbage looking for something to eat, and these became a usual thing as usual of having inept embassy and labor officials when confronted would only reason out ‘that’s the prevailing system and we could not do something about it’,” an admission of their own uselessness,” the OFW leader lamented.
Article Source: Manila Channel - Philippine Standard News
