Repatriated OFWs from ME fighting new battle in Manila

About a hundred repatriated overseas Filipino workers and their supporters started camping out in front of the office of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Wednesday, and vowed not to leave until their demands are addressed, including reimbursement of their repatriation costs and payment of unpaid wages and benefits. The demonstration included 40 female caregivers recently repatriated from Saudi Arabia after staging a work stoppage last year due to alleged unfair labor practices by their company, the operation and construction firm Annasban Group. (See: Protesting OFWs in Saudi ask RP to repatriate them) "We are sick and tired of being ignored by the government, who has so far not lifted a finger to help us workers who almost died of starvation and neglect abroad. We will stay here until we are given the justice that is due us," said Joy Flancia, one of the former caregivers employed by Annasban, in a statement. Confusion over repatriation costs In an interview with GMANews.TV, administrator Carmelita Dimzon said it is not OWWA’s obligation to pay for workers’ repatriation and unpaid salaries, saying the OFWs should seek help from the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA) to go after their employer. “They are barking up the wrong tree. Saan kami kukuha ng pera? Bangko ba kami? Wala sa mandate ng OWWA na magbayad ng utang ng employer (Where do we get the money? Are we a bank? It is not in the mandate of OWWA to pay for debts incurred by employers)," she said. Dimzon added that it is Annasban, and not the OFWs, which paid for the workers’ repatriation as arranged by the POEA. When asked, however, POEA administrator Jennifer Manalili said in a separate interview it was OWWA which arranged the workers’ repatriation. In another interview, Garry Martinez, chair of the migrants’ rights group Migrante International, said the workers have been informed by Annasban that their unpaid wages were used to fund their repatriation. Martinez added, “Mga member ito ng OWWA na nagbayad ng membership fee, at may karapatan sa repatriation (These are OWWA members who paid the membership fee and are thus qualified for repatriation)." Migrant workers pay an OWWA membership fee of $25 (P1,134 at current exchange rates) upon processing of their employment contracts, and benefits include financial assistance in cases of repatriation and livelihood assistance. According to Dimzon, OWWA has already offered the striking workers a livelihood assistance amounting to P10,000, which the workers refused. Martinez explained that the assistance comes in the form of scholarship for workers to freely attend training sessions, after which materials relevant to their desired livelihood will be given to them. Cases filed against recruitment agencies Earlier during the day, the protesting OFWs dropped by the POEA to file cases of violations of labor laws against their recruitment agencies. Martinez said the agencies, as contacted by the POEA, tried to negotiate a settlement with the workers through a one-time payment of P3,000-P5,000, but the workers decided to pursue the cases. "Instead of helping OFWs get their unpaid salaries and allowances, the POEA, as it has done in millions of other cases of OFWs, has instead offered them a settlement. This mass docketing is symbolic of their [OFWs’] intent to punish their recruitment agencies – something that the government has not done," Martinez said in a statement. Manalili said the cases have already been docketed and will be raffled off to an adjudicator. “Unpaid salaries and other allegations will be fleshed out during the hearings," she said, adding that the proceedings will be scheduled this month. The OFWs had earlier complained of contract substitution, delayed salaries, illegal deductions and non-payment of overtime pay and other benefits stipulated in the contract. They also had no days off and were made to work for 12 hours or more daily, the workers alleged. "We went home penniless and mired in debt. We asked OWWA for financial assistance but were given the run-around. We are staging this camp-out to say, 'This is how the Arroyo government treats its so-called modern heroes,' and we are sure that we are not the only ones," Flancia said. The workers thus urged the POEA to permanently delist Annasban as a foreign employer, citing the numerous complaints of contract violations and unfair labor practices lodged against it in the past years. (See: Group seeks permanent ban of ‘notorious’ Saudi firm for detaining 88 OFWs) Migrante likewise called for the scrapping of the OWWA Omnibus Policies, which mandate termination of membership upon expiration or termination of an OFW’s employment; provide for selective repatriation of migrant workers; and limit the coverage of benefits that can be availed of by OFWs and their families. “Since the implementation of the OWWA Omnibus Policies last 2003, thousands of OFWs and their families have been disenfranchised of the fund that came directly from their pockets, and the case of the Annasban workers is another glaring example. This problem will continue until these policies are scrapped," Martinez explained. Apart from the sustained camp-out, the OFWs and Migrante will conduct a series of protest actions in the coming days, including a march to Mendiola on Thursday and participation in the multisectoral rally in celebration of the International Women's Day on March 8.—JV, GMANews.TV