JEDDAH, 15 April 2004 — The 15 Filipino workers of Tae Chang Electrical Construction Company have finally received their unpaid salaries but they are still on the warpath.
This time they are setting their sights on Prestige Search International, the agency that deployed them to Saudi Arabia.
Armed with a recommendation from Labor Attaché Nasser B. Munder addressed to Rosalinda Baldoz, Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA) administrator, the workers will pursue their complaint against the agency for “excessive salary deduction and contract substitution.”
After the case of these OFWs were referred to the Saudi Labor Office, which ruled in their favor, the workers were still forced to pay $860 for placement fee and cost of ticket (from Manila to Jeddah). That mean after the final settlement of their dues on April 7, 2004, some of these workers had little to bring home.
Manuel Capuno received a net pay of only 2,558 riyals, Ricky Laral had SR2,732, while Sulpio Gonzalez, the cook, took home only SR3,160. From these amounts, they have to shell out SR1,016 for their tickets to Manila.
The group is scheduled to leave today via Qatar Airways, thanks to the airlines manager for the Western Region, Ahmed Al-Idrissi, who gave them the cheapest fare to Manila.
Albert Tiay, a material engineer who was among the Tae Chang workers, told Arab News that some of his colleagues were able to buy only cheap things to bring home. “But never mind. What’s important is that we will get home safely,” he added.
The basis for the forced deduction was the affidavit of understanding the workers signed before they left for Jeddah. In the affidavit, the workers agreed to pay for the placement fee and one-way fare to Jeddah.
These are supposed to be shouldered by the employer but the contract they signed that the placement agency submitted to the POEA was replaced with another set of papers just before their departure to Jeddah.
“It was a clear case of contract switching,” said Munder, a lawyer who heads the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Jeddah.
The labor office advised the workers to pursue their case as a group to have more impact.
Tiay said that they have agreed to pursue the case with vigor to teach the erring placement agency a lesson. He said they were the second group to be victimized by Prestige Search International.
Tae Chang had the workers sign an affidavit saying the company has already settled their dues with the workers. At the same time, the affidavit provides that the workers will not complain to authorities when they are home. The National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC)usually disregards such affidavits when there is apparent coercion.
