New Saudi policy worries OFWs; gov’t urged to act
Overseas Filipino workers, nongovernment organizations, and labor recruiters have called on President Benigno Aquino III to formulate a national policy to address the impact of Saudi Arabia’s plan to limit migrant workers in the kingdom.
Participants who attended a symposium in Pasay City on Thursday were unanimous in expressing their concerns that the so-called “nitaqat” policy announced recently by the Saudi government would lead to massive losses of OFW jobs in the kingdom.
‘Nitaqat’
“The Philippine government must study and prepare for the implications of nitaqat on more than a million OFWs in the kingdom. We would like to see a more pro-active approach taken in explaining the nitaqat to the workers and their families,” said former labor undersecretary Susan Ople, president of the Blas F. Ople Policy Center that co-organized the symposium.
The “nitaqat” aims to apply 205 categories of quotas that vary based on the line of work and size of company.
Saudi Arabia will impose a six-year cap on residency visas for expatriate workers if their companies fall below the required quotas. The Saudi labor ministry’s ideal setup for firms is to have more than 10 percent of their employees to be Saudi citizens.
All companies in the kingdom must comply with the “nitaqat” by September 10.
Lawyer Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, another convenor of the symposium, said Manila had no choice but to respect Riyadh’s new policy, which is meant to address the sharp rise in joblessness among Saudi youths.
“They (the Saudis) are clearly looking out for the welfare and advancement of their own citizens. We ought to do the same by preparing a contingency plan for our own nationals that would be affected by Saudization,” said Pimentel, who is the president of the PDP-Laban the political party.
Pimentel said he would bring concerns of the OFW and recruitment sectors to his partymate, Vice President Jejomar Binay, who is the concurrent presidential adviser on OFW affairs.
LBS Recruitment Solutions Corp. president Lito Soriano, one of the convenors, said the nitaqat would affect Saudi-based OFWs who are rehires and who earn more and remit more.
Citing government data, Soriano said that in 2009, there were 291,419 OFWs deployed to Saudi Arabia, of whom nearly 77 percent were rehires.
Saudi unrest
On the other hand, if Saudi-based companies were to comply with nitaqat and stop hiring migrant workers, the deployment of newly-hired OFWs would also be affected, Soriano said.
He pointed out that 80,000 of the new hires were professional and skilled workers, compared to about 36,000 service workers, which include domestics.
He said Malacañang should immediately formulate and implement a strategic employment and diplomatic agenda in Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Middle East, which has been rocked by revolts and protests due to joblessness and worsening economic conditions.
Department of Foreign Affairs-Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs executive director Ricardo Endaya said Philippine ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Ezzedin Tago, had been asked to conduct a study and submit recommendations on the effects of the nitaqat on OFW jobs.
