Saudi policy ‘no cause for worry’

Thursday, July 21, 2011

GOVERNMENT assured yesterday that the effect of the nationalization policy of Saudi Arabia is “minimal” and “not alarming” for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) 7 Director Exequiel Sarcauga said even with the implementation of the Saudization policy, private firms in Saudi Arabia can still hire Filipinos and other foreign workers.

Have something to report? Tell us in text, photos or videos.

“There is no cause for worry,” Sarcauga said during a Kapihan sa PIA (Philippine Information Agency) forum held at Abuhan Pochero restaurant yesterday.

In the same forum, Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration (Owwa) 7 Director Wilfreda Misterio and Fenita Berdon of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) echoed Sarcauga’s statement.

Berdon said the POEA 7 continues to deploy skilled Filipino workers to Saudi Arabia, where the government had decided to enforce a policy requiring private companies to give priority to Saudis in hiring personnel.

“There is no new ban on deployment of OFWs in the Middle East, except for Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Yemen,” she said.

Biggest employer

Berdon said the Middle East remains to be the biggest employer of OFWs.

She reported an increase in the number of Filipinos who found work in the region, from 19,814 for January-June 2010 to 20,800 for the same period this year. Of the 20,800 Filipinos who left for the Middle East this year, more than 1,600 are new hires.

Misterio said the Saudization policy categorizes companies in Saudi Arabia according to the size of their labor force.

Firms that have one to 10 workers are exempted from the nationalization policy. But firms that have 3,000 and more workers are required to source 30 percent of their work force from among citizens of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Indispensable

“Filipinos have become indispensable because they are skilled and hardworking. This is why they would be the last to get fired when companies comply with the Saudization policy,” said Misterio.

She said the Philippine Government is prepared for the worse, though.

Owwa, she said, can help OFWs in Saudi Arabia find new jobs if they want to remain in Saudi Arabia.

The government also has existing programs that provide alternative livelihood and employment for OFWs if they want to come back to the Philippines.

“The present administration’s thrust is to encourage OFWs to come back. It considers overseas employment merely as an option,” said Misterio.

She said government provides skills training and extends loans for enterprise development to OFWs. A scholarship program for OFWs’ children is also in place, she added.

Sarcauga said there are also many employment opportunities for OFWs in the country.

But few OFWs opt to stay in the country and find local employment, he added.

“Para nila, sinsiyo ra ang sweldo ngari (For them, the salary in the Philippines is small change,” he said.