237 unpaid RP medical staff in KSA get help

While Philippine officials in Saudi Arabia are keeping tabs on their plight, Filipinos there are giving support to some 237 Filipino staff members of a Jeddah hospital who have not been paid for over six months. The Filipino workers are from Al-Ansar Hospital, which was closed down last week after the workers went on strike. "Our primary concern is to make the owner of the hospital comply with the instructions of the Governorate office in Jeddah and hand over all the passports to workers so they can look for other jobs and get their iqamas transferred to other hospitals," Philippine Consul General in Jeddah Ezzedin Tago said in an article posted Monday on Saudi news site Arab News. Tago said the transfer was approved by the Ministry of Labor, as he noted that most of the affected Filipino hospital staff members are nurses. He added that the Filipino community in Jeddah has joined hands to provide assistance to the workers. Dr. Sami Badawood, spokesman for the Department of Health Affairs in Jeddah, earlier said the hospital would remain closed until the payment issue is resolved. The Ministry of Health had voiced concern about patients’ welfare and the services provided to them. Badawood said strict action would be taken against the hospital if it was found violating rules and regulations. On the other hand, Tago said the situation now is a humanitarian one because the workers cannot even meet their basic needs here and support their families back home. Tago added they have taken up the issue with many government departments, including the Ministry of Labor and Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Hospital officials were not available for comment, the Arab News report said. — RSJ, GMANews.TV