RIYADH, 9 January 2004 — A regional organization of overseas Filipino workers called KGS (The Brotherhood of Filipinos in the Middle East) said the 16 striking overseas Filipino workers have received recommendation letters from the Riyadh Governorate, which will facilitate their early repatriation. The sealed letters will be given to officials at the Riyadh deportation center, where the workers will surrender and stay briefly before their departure.
Richard Bautista, KGS chairman, said his organization is seeking support from the embassy and leaders of the community as well as other community organizations to help alleviate the suffering of the stranded workers.
Bautista is hopeful that Angel Borja, the labor attache responsible for the Eastern Province, will make the necessary arrangements for air tickets while the workers’ travel documents are processed.
The role of the embassy in solving this matter is unclear. The two workers whose cases were claimed to have been settled by the embassy said they were not aware of the embassy’s position at all.
The embassy, KGS claims, is also not doing enough for nearly 70 male and female workers currently stranded in Riyadh. The KGS said that a large number of female workers are stranded at an embassy-run shelter without access to community leaders. These workers have complained of maltreatment, working longer hours without extra wages, non-payment of salaries, and physical abuse.
Despite all these complaints, Saudi Arabia has remained the top destination for OFWs looking for employment over the past five years. According to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, the deployment of OFWs to Saudi Arabia has steadily increased since 1997. Saudi Arabia is today home to over 800,000 Filipino workers, mainly occupying middle-level technical positions in different sectors or working as nurses, hospital aides, janitors, and domestic helpers.
