In a letter to Labor Attaché Vicente Cabe of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Jeddah (POLO-Jeddah), general manager Khalid Albedayan wrote that the company had met with the Filipino employees assigned in King Fahd Hospital in Baha and had solved the problems completely, except for an accommodation issue.
However, a Filipino staff of the company called Arab News on Monday to say this was not the case. “It is true that we met with officials of the company in the presence of POLO-Jeddah representatives on Monday, but the problems were not solved. They merely wanted us to go back to work,” said the worker, who requested anonymity.
Regional coordinator for Migrante-International Middle East John Leonard Monterona said that the company had asked for the iqamas of the OFWs, but the latter refused to surrender them. The company eventually sought police help.
According to Monterona, the corporation took the iqamas because it planned to send the OFWs home.
“Our appeal to the company is to treat its Filipino staff fairly and to give them their rights,” he said.
Arab News repeatedly tried to call the company’s human resources director who attended the meeting, but to no avail.
As of this writing, 46 out of 52 OFWs reportedly have gone back to work.
The other Filipino staff said they wouldn't go back to work unless they received the $300 (SR1,200), as indicated in the contract they signed in Manila before leaving the Philippines.
They also said that they were receiving only SR600 a month. From that amount, SR100 was being deducted for visas.
In addition, the workers claimed that the firm was collecting $500 from each of them, for which they paid monthly, without telling them what it was for.
They added that the only consolation was that they had been transferred to a better accommodation.
