Displaced OFWs still await unpaid wages, benefits from Saudi firms
More overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who lost their jobs due to the closure of construction firms in Saudi Arabia have processed and received their labor claims, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) says on Monday, February 19, 2024. INQUIRER FILES
MANILA, Philippines — Some Filipinos displaced almost a decade ago when Saudi construction firms declared bankruptcy are still awaiting payouts for unpaid wages and benefits.
The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) reported in a virtual press conference on Wednesday that while approximately 1,500 workers from the initial group have already received and processed their checks, there is a delay in Saudi Arabia’s distribution of checks for the second batch of claimants.
READ: 1st batch of laid-off OFWs gets wages from Saudi
“We are awaiting the next batch of checks to be released. The Saudi Labor Minister says that succeeding releases will come. There is already a budget allocated for this, but we just have to be patient with the process (on) the Saudi side,” DMW officer-in-charge Hans Cacdac said.
Cacdac, however, appealed for the displaced Filipinos to extend patience amid the hold-up considering that Saudi Arabia is currently observing Ramadan.
READ: DMW: Unpaid wages of displaced Saudi OFWs ‘forthcoming’
“It’s Ramadan right now, so let’s just be a little patient about the release of the second batch,” the DMW OIC said.
Meanwhile, DMW Asec. Jerome Alcantara said that most of the 1,500 workers from the initial batch have already completed processing their checks.
Those who are having problems processing their checks are being assisted by the DMW, Alcantara added.
These are 29 heirs, who are widows or family members of displaced workers who have passed away, and 52 claimants who have discrepancies in the names on their checks, he explained.
He then called workers who still have problems processing their checks to contact the DMW via email at [email protected] and the agency’s hotline, 0920-5171-059.
