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Sunday, May 21, 2006
Repatriated OFWs seek gov't help to save comrades
THE OVERSEAS Filipino Workers who were returned home from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are seeking the repatriation of their comrades who were left working for an employer whom they said cruelly treats his employees.
A group of OFWs, who are among those who reportedly endured the unjust treatment of their employer - the Annasban Group of Companies - arrived in the country last May 9 after several months of alleged maltreatment in the rehabilitation center for the mentally-ill where they were employed.
They asked the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration and other concerned government agencies to do something to save those left working in said institution.
The group is part of the 38 workers who chose to come home because of unjust treatment by their employer.
Mariel Taguba, one of the last batches of repatriated workers, said employees in the rehabilitation center, which is managed by Annasban - their Arab employer, suffer from lack of food, poor accommodation and unexplained cuts in their salaries.
She added they even worked for four months without pay.
The OFWs disclosed they have been victims of contract substitution, which is widely practiced in Saudi. They added it was hard for them to seek help from Filipino agencies based there because they were banned from using their cellular phones.
Contract substitution occurs when an OFW is asked to sign another contract once he or she arrives in the country where he or she was deployed, which replaces the original contract signed prior to his or her departure.
Taguba said she and her other companions applied as janitress in the rehabilitation center but were surprised to learn they are going to work as caregivers for mentally-ill Arabs.
Meanwhile, Migrante-Cordillera asked the national government to scrap the unified contract signed by Department of Labor and Employment Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas in 2002, which institutionalized the practice of contract substitution.
"This document has put the OFWs abroad in a very dangerous state and should be scrapped immediately," said Migrante chair Flora Belinan.-jane cadalig
(May 21, 2006 issue)
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