FALLOUT FROM OIL SLUMP | Unpaid for 5 Months, Hundreds of OFWs ‘Trapped’ in Saudi Quarters
By: Carla Lim, News5 | InterAksyon.com
February 13, 2016 10:14 AM
MANILA, Philippines — Hundreds of overseas Filipino workers in Saudi Arabia say they are trapped in the camp where they are housed, unpaid for the last five months, many with expired iqama (residence IDs), and pressured by workers from other countries to join a strike over their wages.
The OFWs, who work in Jeddah for the construction arm of the conglomerate Saudi-Oger, say nobody has explained why they have not been paid although thousands of workers gather outside the company’s gates every day to await word from their employers.
One of the workers, Roy (not his real name), a welder, told News5 in an interview over Skype Friday: “Panay na po pakiusap ng mga tao, (pero) ‘pag pumupunta sa opisina, tinataboy po na parang may sakit na ketong ‘yung mga tao (They plead but every time they go to the office, they are driven away like lepers).”
Photos provided by Roy showed the workers milling outside the firm, some of them holding signs saying, “No salary, no work.”
Oil slump
Department of Labor and Employment spokesman Nikon Fomeronag told News5 that Philippine Overseas Labor Office at the country’s embassy in Jeddah has already met with Saudi-Oger and said the delay in the workers’ pay was “attributed to the delay in the governments’ payment for their infrastructure projects” because of the slump in oil prices, which has forced the Saudi government to undertake austerity measures.
At the same time, Fomeronag said DOLE records show only 300 Filipinos affected by the delayed pay, with 113 of them finally due to receive their overdue wages and benefits.
However, Roy and another OFW who spoke separately to InterAksyon.com said these numbers reflect only the small number of Filipinos who have managed to reach the Philippine embassy for help.
This second OFW told InterAksyon.com: “Only a few of us have approached the embassy … but most of us cannot move about without our iqama because, right outside our bunkhouse, the police patrol regularly so we are afraid to go out. We have companions who have been arrested and jailed.”
“One other thing,” he added, “there is a 50 riyal charge to translate our complaints into Arabic, so others don’t bother filing complaints because they simply don’t have the money.”
Roy confirmed this, saying around 90 percent of them have expired iqama and are technically staying in Saudi Arabia illegally, and most are unable to afford even the fare to go to the embassy.
“Paano naman kaming mga walang pamasahe papunta doon? Dito lang sa kampo na tinitirahan ko lagpas na kami isang libo. Marami sa amin nasira na ang pamilya, na sila naman ang dahilan kung bakit kami nagtatrabaho ditto (What about those of us who can’t afford the fare? Just here in the camp where I live, there are more than a thousand of us. Many have already seen their families broken, when they are the reason why we are working here),”said Roy.
Trapped
Roy and the other OFW said most of the Filipinos remain willing to continue working while waiting for their pay.
However, they are unable to do so, not only because of possible arrest for their expired iqama and lack of fare money, but also because of threats from Indian and Pakistani colleagues who have gone on strike and have been pressuring them to join in.
“Kami naman pong mga Pinoy, ayaw namin ng mga ganiyang strike, natatakot kami sa ganiyan (We Filipinos, we don’t want to strike, we are afraid to do so),” Roy said. “Kaso, ‘pag lumalabas naman kami ng kampo, sinasaktan kami ng ibang lahi. Pinapalo kami (However, whenever we leave our camp, the other races hurt us, they strike us).”
He added that their employers understand “na naiipit lang po kami sa sitwasyon kaya ‘di kami makapasok (that we are caught in a dilemma which is why we cannot report for work).”
Worse to come
In a phone-patch interview, John Monterona, Middle East coordinator of the overseas workers’ advocacy group Migrante, said notwithstanding the plight of the Saudi-Oger OFWs, the situation in Saudi Arabia could not yet be called a crisis, an assessment shared by DOLE.
Migrante has documented 60 Filipinos laid off so far.
Last week, DOLE reported a 1.11 percent decline in job orders in Saudi Arabia’s eastern region; 18.78 percent in Dubai; and Abu Dhabi, 82 percent, or from 85 offers to only 16.
Monterona said the situation at Saudi-Oger is part of the fallout from the drop in the price of oil, the Middle East kingdom’s main source of wealth, and worried that, should the problem persist until the middle of this year, as many as 120,000 OFWs, mostly in construction, could lose their jobs.
“Ang tinatamaan ngayon talaga mostly sa mga (Those who are hardest hit at the moment are mostly in) infrastructure and construction development projects. Either nag-slowdown, tinatanggal or nate-terminate ang contract nila (they are forced into work slowdowns, laid off, or their contracts are terminated),” Monterona said.
He also cited reports circulating in Saudi Arabia that the government may start raising taxes, including a value added tax on commodities, “aside from austerity measures and budget cuts,” with foreigners expected to be most affected.
“Magi-impose ng tax sa mga expatriate at ‘yung kanilang presyo sa mga (goods) dito tinaasan na nila ng (They will impose a tax on expatriates and the prices of goods here have been raised by) 100 percent,” he said, further cutting into overseas workers’ incomes, particularly Filipinos whose wages are frozen.
He urged government to plan ahead should more OFWs lose their jobs because of the oil price slump, particularly by providing decent employment in the country.
Monterona clarified that OFWs do not demand extravagant pay at home but do expect security of tenure in a labor market where contractualization has increasingly become the norm.
“Dapat talaga ipatigil na ng pamahalaan ang contractualization. Hindi naman mukhang pera ang mga OFW, mas gusto ng karamihan na manirahan sa sariling bayan (The government should really end contractualization. OFWs are not greedy for money and they would rather live in their own country),” he said.
‘Just get us home’
Roy says his unpaid wages total more than 30,000 riyal or almost P400,000.
But asked whether he is willing to hold out and wait until he can collect his pay, Roy immediately replied: “Hindi na … uwi na ako kahit huwag nang ibigay ‘yung sahod ko. Marami sa amin gusto nang umuwi ng Pilipinas. Maghanap nalang kami ng ibang trabaho basta nasa Pilipinas kami (No … I just want to go home even without my pay. Many of us just want to go home to the Philippines. We will find other work there as long as we are back in the Philippines).”
But for many, even going home immediately is impossible. The other OFW says he was employed on a one-year renewable contract, with his current one due to expire still in June, which is the only time he can safely leave.
DOLE said there are enough jobs awaiting returning OFWs but acknowledged that local wages will never compare to what they earn abroad.