Bulatlat: OFWs in Kuwait stand up vs. employer

BY AUBREY SC MAKILAN, Bulatlat "Wala na kaming tiwala kahit ‘dun pa sa (POLO) Kuwait. Naobserve na namin ’dun pa lang iba na treatment." (We do not trust the Philippine Labor Office in Kuwait. We have already observed when we were there that they treated us differently.) Despite feeling neglected by and losing their trust on the government, Josephine Tuburan and Gemma Limsan were able to derive courage from their fellow overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who shared the same fate as them. Like them, they were also exploited but they chose to stand up against their employer Al Essa Medicare Company in Kuwait. Oppressive work conditions Tuburan was working as a midwife in Kidapawan, North Cotabato while Limsan was a nurse in Tagum, Davao before trying their luck as caregivers in Kuwait. They already sensed that there were problems in their overseas employment since the time they were about to depart from Manila last April 2007. Tuburan said they were told by an airport employee that their case was complicated because there were job postings for caregivers in Kuwait, only for nursing attendants. True enough, Tuburan said, they encountered a lot of problems such as salary deductions, unpaid overtime work, no days off, as well as having to live with other oppressive company policies. For 10 months, “nursing attendants" like Tuburan and Limsan received only KD70 ($256) a month, working 10 hours daily, with additional KD15 for two hours of overtime. This was way below the legal rate of KD120 and up. They work in homes or in hospitals, wherever their patient is. The contract that they signed in the Philippines provided them with one day off a week. Another contract, which they were made to sign when they arrived in Kuwait stipulated that they would have two days off a week. But when they started working, they were not allowed to take a day off. “Hindi pa ibibigay ‘yung KD15 ‘pag ’di ka nagtrabaho ng 15 days straight," (We were not even given the KD 15 overtime pay if we were not able to work for 15 days straight.) complained Limsan. She added that they did not have sick leave. Whenever they got sick or went for a medical check-up, they had to pay the company KD1. And although they were given KD10 a month as food allowance, the two said, they hardly ate right because they were only allowed to go out to buy their groceries twice a month. Thus, Limsan said, “Nagkakanakawan na sa ref, syempre sa gutom ‘yung iba kakainin na lang kahit hindi sa kanila." (Because of hunger, our co-workers ate whatever food they find in the refrigerator even if it was not theirs.) Worse, Tuburan said, other OFWs, including herself, resorted to eating the leftover food of their patients just to be able to endure long hours of duty. They also complained of the long travel time from their hostel to the facility. Even with a company bus, the two said, it would take them three hours to reach the hostel since there were several of them being serviced by the bus. “Biro mo 12 hours na trabaho tapos tatlong oras na byahe. Magluluto ka pa pagdating. Ilang oras na lang tulog mo no’n?" (Imagine that, we had to work for 12 hours then travel for three hours going home. We even had to cook after reaching our hostel. How many hours of sleep could we get?) said Limsan. But what bothered them a lot were the salary deductions. Their agency, Care Plus International Services, got half of their salary for six months¾four months to cover their airfare and two months for visa processing costs. When they needed to send money to their families, they had to request the agency to make the deductions the following month so they would receive their salary in whole. Thus, for the succeeding month, they would not receive any salary. When Tuburan requested for a stay in the deduction for a month and was already able to pay the delayed deduction the succeeding month, the agency still did not return her promissory even if she demanded for it. Confirming her fears, the company, Tuburan said, made another deduction from her salary for the same visa processing costs, which was already deducted form her previously, plus medical expenses. What is strange, said Tuburan, is that they had paid for the cost of their visa processing before their departure. She added that her debt reached P50,000 ($1,230 at an exchange rate of $1=P40.64) for the processing of her papers. They received their salary through an automated teller machine (ATM). They were not asked to sign anything and were not given a payslip, which is supposed to provide the details of their salary and the deductions. Later, they found out that the company made a deduction for a supposed training that was conducted by the Ministry of Health, which never transpired. They were told that an earlier batch of workers was also charged for the same training, which never happened. “Cancer" of the company Once a month, workers held a “welfare meeting" with the company supervisor to air their grievances. But Tuburan said nothing resulted from these meetings because their grievances were never addressed. In stead, Limsan said, whenever they complained, the supervisor gave them a piece paper and said, “If you’re not happy, there’s a white paper, put your name and resign." The two told Bulatlat that the company terminated the contract of workers who complained. They cited the case of a certain Armida Tusino who was sent home by the company for leading the workers in complaining against the malpractices of the company. Migrante-Kuwait said the Philippine Labor Office (POLO) in Kuwait denied that they received any complaints from the workers during that time. While their grievances were ignored, they were charged from KD20 to KD30 whenever a patient complained. Limsan also said the company Al Essa earned a lot from underpaying them. Al Essa, Limsan said, charges KD20 from each patient for 24-hour care. Even if they were assigned to take care of a twin or triplet and the company charges KD20 for each baby, their salary would still be the same. “Sahod namin parang kuko lang, lahat napupunta na sa kanila," (Our salary was so little, much like a nail, and almost all of the earinings form our patients went to the company.) said Limsan. Because they were not given the details of their salary and the deductions, they suspected that they were being charged even for their accommodations at the hostel. This was later confirmed by a colleague. Because they were the spokespersons of their group, Limsan and Tuburan were called by their employers as the “cancer" of the company. Their group composed of 11OFWs working in the same company eventually decided to file a complaint at the POLO in Kuwait. To their dismay, Limsan said, the manager of the company told them, “Nothing will happen if you go to the embassy. It’s just a matter of money." But still they gave the POLO the benefit of the doubt. “Sad to say, walang nangyari," (nothing happened) lamented Limsan. Connivance of embassy officials? Tuburan, who was the first among their group to file a complaint, was asked to meet with Al Essa general manager Murali Nair at the POLO. But Tuburan complained that the company vehicle that was supposed to transport her to the POLO did not arrive at the hostel. After that, all the 11 OFW complainants decided to stand as a group and agreed to meet with the company manager only if all of them were present. When the time came for the meeting, the company vehicle that would take them to the POLO arrived late. They later learned, Limsan said, that the company manager Nair and POLO desk officer Adam Mosa talked in private before they arrived. “Disaapointed kami lahat bakit sila nag-usap na wala kami. Ano pinag-usapan nila doon?" (We were disappointed that they talked without us. What were they talking about?) said Limsan in a raised voice. She added that Mosa was even angry at them and did not entertain them. “Ma-feel mo talaga iba ang trato nila sa amin," (We felt that they treated us differently.) she said. Limsan said they told Labor Attaché Leopoldo de Jesus that based on the masterlist of the company, they were supposed to be paid least KD130 monthly but were given only about KD90 to KD102, but to no vail. “Bale wala lang sa kanya, lalakad-lakad lang, di s’ya nakikinig, kukuha ng tubig, magsi-CR," (He was not listening. He walked around the room, took a glass of water, and went to the comfort room.) she said. But when Gil Librea of Migrante-Kuwait arrived at the meeting, Limsan and Tuburan said, they noticed that the POLO personnel became uneasy. According to Limsan, de Jesus said they had no case and that everything was just a misunderstanding. But Librea said that they complained against clear violations of their contract. Since they met Librea of Migrante, Limsan said, they would always inform him of their whereabouts, especially if their general manager would drive them to the POLO for a meeting or if they were asked to do something, just to make sure they would be safe. They heard that other OFWs ended up dead after filing complaints against their employer. Limsan said she felt more frustrated when de Jesus’s response to their complaint was to scold them for agreeing to receive KD70 when they should be receiving a minimum of KD120 a month. “Bakit ‘di mo ba alam sir? Bakit ka pumirma?" (Why, didn’t you know about it sir? Isn’t it you also signed our contract?) Limsan asked de Jesus. Limsan said the assistant labor attaché’s reply was that they signed just to facilitate the issuance of the visa. “Laro lang pala ‘yung mga pirma nila. Papel lang pala ito," (So their signature meant nothing and the contract was just a piece of paper.) Limsan said. Librea was unable to attend a meeting set in the morning of Jan. 30 because he had to work. Limsan suspected that the Jan. 30 meeting was purposely set in the morning unlike the previous meetings to prevent the Migrante representative from attending. “Kaya pala tinanong ni de Jesus si Gil kung anong oras ang trabaho n’ya, ’yun pala ’yun," (It was no coincidence that de Jesus asked about Gil’s work hours.) Limsan said. In that meeting, Limsan said, Nair gave them a document in Arabic and asked them to sign it. They refused because of an earlier advise by Librea not to sign any paper offered to them. Limsan said de Jesus even tried to persuade them to sign the document. Limsan instead asked them to translate the document. “Nagtiwala kami sa kanya (de Jesus), ‘yun pala..," (We trusted de Jesus, but apparently he was not protecting us.) said Limsan in dismay. The document, according to Limsan, stated that she and Tuburan has completed working for two years and that the company has paid all their salaries. Limsan and Tuburan just laughed, commenting that they were then only in their 10th month of stay in Kuwait. De Jesus did not react. De Jesus even told them, Limasan said, that Migrante’s presence makes their work more difficult. But they told him, “sorry sir, sila ang nakakatulong sa amin." (Sorry sir, but only Migrante is helping us.) When Limsan and Tuburan decided to bring their case to the Ministry of Social Affairs of Kuwait, de Jesus discouraged them by saying that they needed a thousand KD for the lawyer and that it would take time. Later, they learned from a Kuwaiti friend that assistance from the Ministry of Social Affairs would cost them nothing. Instead, it would be the company who would pay their claims. “’dun namin na-realize na nabayaran talaga. Pretty sure," said Limsan. “Alam n’ya na kung puputok ‘yun (isyu), damay s’ya dahil may kasalanan din s’ya dun." (That was when we realized that de Jesus was paid by the company. He knew that if the issue became public he would also be held accountable because he was also at fault.) Limsan and Tuburan were eventually terminated by Al Essa. Among the reasons given were alleged cruelty to patient and insubordination. When they asked that their patients and the sponsors be called to testify if they were maltreated, the company did not agree. The other nine Filipino caregivers who were part of their group resigned. In exchange, Migrante-Kuwait said, the nine OFWs were promised free airfare back home, their remaining salary for the month, a chance to come back to work in Kuwait with other employers, and the waiving of a penalty of KD250 (US$915) for breach of contract. The company also promised to provide the remaining workers a copy of their pay slips. There are 53 Filipinos and more than a hundred South Asian caregivers in Al Essa, said the migrant group. But the KD130 (US$476) reportedly deducted from them for their airfare to Kuwait, which the company told POLO was for training fees, was never given back to them, along with the unpaid two hours of overtime pay and days off and holidays, said Migrante-Kuwait. The group said that caregivers in Kuwait earned a basic pay of only KD70 (US$256.00) and a meal allowance of KD10 (US$37.00) or a monthly income of US$293, which is way below the US$400 monthly income the Philippine government brags as the minimum pay of household service workers. The courage of the 11 OFWs earned praises from Indian workers. Limsan said the Indians are afraid because if they complained, they will not be given their whole month’s salary. “Sabi nila sa amin, ‘bilib kami sa inyong Pilipino, kaya nyo si Murail (general manager).’" (We admire you Filipinos, you can face up to Murail.) Fight After arriving at the Manila airport, Limsan and Tuburan requested the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) post there to transport them to the Migrante International office but they were instead brought to the OWWA main office in Pasay City. There, Limsan said, they were offered a lawyer but they refused. They said they have heard many stories of OFWs whose cases against their recruitment agency were just compromised by the OWWA. “Wala na kaming tiwala kahit ‘dun pa sa Kuwait. Naobserve na namin ’dun pa lang iba na treatment. Lumaban nga kami ’dun na hindi namain bansa, dito pa kaya sa bansa natin?"(We do not trust them anymore. Even in Kuwait we observed that they treated us differently. We fought for our rights while in Kuwait even if we were in a foreign country, why would we not fight here?) Limsan said with conviction. Now at the Migrante office, Limsan and Tuburan, are following up their request for airfare to be able to go home to their families in Mindanao. But Limsan was annoyed when an OWWA personnel told her, “gusto n’yo sa Migrante tapos ngayon hihingi kayo ng pera pauwi sa amin." (You wanted to be with Migrante and you are asking us for money to go back home.) “Ba’t ba nagagalit ‘tong unggoy na ’to pera naman namin sinasahod sa kanila!" (Why shouldn’t we be angry at thaat monkey when it is our money that is being used to pay their salaries.) Limsan lashed back. “May pondo naman bakit ayaw nila irelease?" (There are funds, why don’t they release it?) asked Tuburan commenting that the agency was only good at collecting fees from them. The two plan to file charges against their recruitment agency, Careplus, to fight for, among others, their salary for the remaining 14 months of their two-year contract. More importantly, the two said, they would try to prevent and warn the next batch of OFWs from working for Al Essa so that they would not experience what Limsan, Tuburan, and the nine others had to go through. “Ito rin ang request sa amin ng mga kasamahan naming naiwan ‘dun (sa Kuwait)." (This is the request of our companions who were left in Kuwait.) - Bulatlat