9 repatriated OFWs from Saudi vow to seek justice

Nine overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who were repatriated from Saudi Arabia reiterated their resolve to demand justice for their ordeal in the hands of their allegedly abusive employer. “Masaya kaming kasama namin ngayon ang aming mahal sa buhay pero desidido kaming ipaglaban kung ano ang dapat para sa amin. Ipaglalaban namin ang katarungan," Teresita Appare, one of the repatriated OFWs, said at a press conference Monday, a day after their arrival in Manila. (We are happy that we are now reunited with our families, but we will continue to fight for what we should rightfully get. We will fight for justice.) The press conference was held in front of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) to put pressure on the agency to assist the beleaguered migrant workers. The nine OFWs were part of the 89 workers, all female, in Saudi who went on strike in October last year to protest the alleged gross contract violations of their employer, the Annasban Group.

Hunger strike Early this month, they went on a hunger strike to pressure the Philippine post in the Kingdom to speed efforts to repatriate them. Based on government figures, 33 other OFWs are expected to be repatriated in the coming weeks. Some of the striking workers returned to the country last year using personal money, while the others decided to return to work. “Kailangang maibalik sa Annasban workers ang lahat ng sahod at benepisyong pinaghirapan at ipinangako sa kanila. Gutom at hirap ang inabot nila sa Saudi at gutom at hirap din ang aabutin nila dito sa Pilipinas kung ‘di kumilos ang OWWA," said Garry Martinez, chairperson of the migrants’ rights group Migrante International in a statement. (Annasban workers must get all the salaries and benefits they worked for and were promised to get. They experienced hunger and suffering in Saudi, and that’s also what they are bound to go through here if the OWWA does not act on their request for assistance. ) Also at the press conference was Joy Flancia, one of the 23 Filipina workers who also held a strike in August last year against Annasban after encountering similar employment problems. Flancia and her fellow striking workers were repatriated a month after they stopped working. “Immediately after our arrival, we requested financial assistance from OWWA. But all we got after several hours of argument were for transportation fares which were not even enough to bring us back to our provinces. Worse, they called up our recruitment agencies to settle with us for a measly P2,000-3,000," recounted Flancia in the same statement. Until now, none of their applications for livelihood loans was approved, she added. OWWA policy “With the provisions of the OWWA Omnibus Policies, we are afraid that the Annasban workers may already be considered as non-members because they signed resignation papers out of their dire need to go home, which could mean that OWWA has no intention of helping them," Martinez said. Martinez was referring to the OWWA Omnibus Policies which, among other things, prescribes that an OFW’s membership with OWWA ends with the expiration or termination of the employment contract; restricts voluntary membership to only two years; and limits the coverage of benefits that can be availed of by the OFWs’ families. Workers pay $25 (P1162) as OWWA membership fee, entitling them to such benefits as repatriation, financial assistance, counseling, and livelihood loans and training. “Relief and justice for OFWs in distress became more elusive because of the OWWA Omnibus Policies. Since its implementation, thousands of OFWs and their families have been disenfranchised of the fund which came directly from their pockets. The case of the repatriated workers of Annasban is but a clear example of how anti-migrant OWWA policies are," Martinez said. Migrante also reiterated its call to permanently ban Annasban from hiring Filipino workers in light of the increasing number of complaints lodged against it in the past years. - KBK, GMANews.TV