At least 88 overseas Filipino workers (OFW) in Saudi Arabia who have refused to return to work due to alleged unfair labor practices by their company have called on the Philippine government to work for their repatriation. The 88 OFWs in Riyadh, who have been waiting to be sent back home for almost three months now, have gone to the extent of planning a hunger strike to compel the government to speed up efforts for their repatriation, migrant workers group Migrante-Middle East (ME) said in a statement Monday. The OFWs stopped working on Oct. 12 last year after complaining of unjust labor practices by their employer, a construction company. Their complaints included unauthorized salary reduction, illegal salary deduction and delayed payment of salary. Migrante-ME regional coordinator John Leonard Monterona said one of the messages he received read, “If the decision would take too long and we are made to wait and wait, our group has decided to stage a hunger strike. Our employer might think that we're happy with the supplies being given to us. .”The 88 OFWs are currently staying in Riyadh at a company-provided accommodation, according to Monterona. Another message read, “We will not accept food from the embassy anymore. No one is helping us, even our government. How long do we have to wait? ”The Department of Foreign Affairs earlier issued a statement on Nov. 3 last year that the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Riyadh is discussing with Annasban the distressed OFWs' repatriation “at the soonest possible time.” The workers' repatriation, however, remains uncertain to this date, according to Monterona. “We are urging the POLO in Riyadh to once and for all talk to the distressed OFWs' employer for it to issue them an exit clearance (exit visa) so that they could be home without further delay,” Monterona said. Migrante-ME disclosed that according to the protesting OFWs, they were asked by Annasban to sign a different contract upon their arrival in Saudi Arabia, where the terms and conditions, such as the salary rate, are different from the original contract they signed in the Philippines with their recruitment agencies. The workers' salary was reduced to SR650 (P7,800) from SR950 (P11,400), and they were also not given medical insurance as stated in the original contract, according to Monterona. The company is also charging each of the workers a deployment cost amounting to SR4,000-8,000 (P48,000-96,000) “The deployment cost should only be paid by the OFWs if they intentionally breached the contract; but in this case, it is the employer (who breached the contract),” Monterona said. He added that the recruitment agencies in the Philippines of some of the OFWs are willing to pay for the tickets for their repatriation, while Migrante's Manila office is coordinating with the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration to provide tickets for the other workers. But the company has yet to issue exit visas for their repatriation, Monterona said. The protesting workers originally numbered to 89, but one was repatriated on Nov. 26 following the death of her husband in Palawan.
