ALKHOBAR, 19 August 2005 — If things go well, more Filipinos could land jobs in the Eastern Region, the head of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) here said yesterday.
Eight “new employers” have expressed their interest in hiring Filipino workers immediately and were already asking for a list of accredited recruitment agencies in the Philippines, Labor Attaché Delmer Cruz told Arab News.
“Four companies have already sought the pre-qualification requirements from us so they may start recruiting soon,” he said.
Cruz said one of those who was considering Filipinos in their projects was Hamoud Abdulaziz Al-Adhad, representative of OAO Stroytransgaz, the biggest construction company in Russia which is currently engaged in installation of gas and industrial pipes in the Eastern Region.
Majid Al-Shaikh of Al-Ohali Trading Group, which is engaged in car sales and dealership and food business, also expressed preference for Filipino workers, and so with with Ismael Ebrahim of Al-Jazeera Ambitions Factory Company and Ahmeer Ahmed of Three Lions Factory Company.
Four other employers have confirmed that they were attending the International Labor Mart (ILM) to be held in Manila on Nov. 9-11, Cruz said. He identified them as the Aurangzeb Qamar Wool Spinning Factory, Tagy Industrial Company for Paints, Strategic Enterprise Corp. Ltd., and Energy Resources Development Co. Ltd.
Cruz said he is inviting 20 more “new” prospective employers to join the job fair, which will be held at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Manila. “We consider them new because they have not been registered as existing employers of OFWs here in the Eastern Region,” Cruz explained.
Philippine Labor Undersecretary Danilo Cruz had earlier required all POLO offices to invite “new direct employers (corporate) and foreign placement agencies to attend the labor fair.
The POLO has offices in Alkhobar, Riyadh, Jeddah and Onaizah in Saudi Arabia. It also has offices in other parts of the world where there are big numbers of Filipino contract workers, Known as OFWs.
Cruz said that he was able to identify these new employers through the help of the Chamber of Commerce in the Eastern Region and the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (Sagia).
He said he has reported to Ambassador Bahnarim Guinomla in Riyadh of this development to facilitate the visa requirements for these employers to attend the ILM.
