5 OFWs in Riyadh jailed for ‘work stoppage’

Five overseas Filipino workers (OFW) who have filed complaints against their employer were briefly jailed in Riyadh on Saturday for alleged illegal work stoppage. Wally Villazor, Labor Attaché I of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, said the five were released on Monday. In an interview, Villazor said the workers have a pending complaint before the Saudi Labor Office against their company, Key Technology for Furnishing. A hearing is scheduled between the workers and their employer on October 26 before the Labor Office. In a statement, migrant advocacy group Kapatiran sa Gitnang Silangan (KGS) said the five were arrested by local police in their company-provided accommodation after their employer reported them, along with eight other Filipino workers, for illegally stopping work since last week. “The 13 distressed OFWs complained of working for more than 8 hours a day, but they were not being paid for overtime work. They were not issued protective personal equipment during work and they were forced finish their work or else two days will be deducted from their salary," said KGS spokesman Eric Jocson. Jocson added that prior to the arrest, the employer allegedly came to the workers’ barracks and forced them to sign an agreement indicating that they are staging a strike, but the workers refused. While Philippine labor officials have said that work stoppage is indeed illegal in the Kingdom and could be a ground for imprisonment, Migrante-Middle East lamented that it is the 13 workers’ employer who should have been jailed. “Complaining an erring employer’s labor malpractices does not constitute a violation of the Saudi labor law; it is the workers’ employer who should be put behind bars for violating their own labor law," Migrante regional coordinator John Leonard Monterona said. “We will continue with our calls to the Aquino administration to work on a bilateral agreement or a form arrangement with the Saudi and other Middle East governments on the protection of OFWs there," he added. For his part, Villazor said a case officer has already been assigned to assist the workers during their hearing on October 26. – KBK, GMANews.TV