MANILA, PHILIPPINES — NAKATAKDANG magbayad ng $4.6 billion ang Saudi Arabia bilang back wages at end-of-contract fees sa mga overseas Filipino workers o OFWs na napauli ng bansa matapos hindi nabayaran ng kanilang sahod.
Paliwanag ni Department of Labor and Employment of DOLE Secretary Silvestre Bello III, para sa mga OFWs na hindi nakatanggap ng sahod at end of service fees simula pa noong 2015 ang nasabing bayad.
“President Duterte directed me to repatriate all of them, probably about 10,000 to 11,000 of them. We brought them home…but before we did that, we authorized a lawyer to pursue their claims against their employees,” pahayag ni Bello.
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Ayon sa opisyal, nanalo sa kaso ang nabanggit na mga OFWs ngunit hindi pa rin sila nabayaran ng tama.
“Because of this, no less than President Duterte sent a personal letter to his highness King Salman of the kingdom, twice. Unfortunately, there was no positive response. Now we thought, I thought that [it’s] high time that our workers should be given justice by paying their claims, their valid claims.”
“So with that I came up with a proposal to the board of the (Philippine Overseas Employment Administration) of considering a deployment ban in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia until they settle this account,”
“Probably this triggered some reaction from them,” paliwanag ni Bello.
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Sa pahayag na inilathala ng DOLE sa website nito noong Linggo, sinabi ni Bello na nakipagkita ito sa kanyang Saudi counterpart na si Ahmed al-Rajhi bago pa man ang Abu Dhabi Dialogue.
Dito umano nag-apela si al-Rajhi na alisin na ang suspension sa Arab mega recruitment agencies na siyang responsable sa pagpapadala ng mga OFWs sa Saudi Arabia na hindi nasahuran at nabigyan ng kaukulang benipisyo.
“And in that meeting he assured me that when he will be coming on January 2022, he will come up, he’ll probably come up with a positive result,” dagdag pa ni Bello.
Sinabi pa ni Bello na hiniling nito kay al Rajhi na mabayaran ang claims ngayong Disyembre.
“And the minister graciously acceded to my request. So hopefully by, on or before December there will be some positive result,” pagtatapos ni Bello.
Sa ngayon, nasa isang milyon pa umano ang bilang ng mga OFWs na nagtatrabaho sa Saudi Arabia.
Samantala, kinumperma ng Overseas Filipino Workers Welfare Administration o OWWA na pinag-aaralan na ang pagbibigay ng unpaid salaries sa mga OFWs sa Saudi Arabia.
©2020 THOUGHTSKOTO
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