The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) observes a sudden decline in the deployed overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to Saudi Arabia beginning this year.
“Hiring of Filipino workers (in the kingdom) may possibly drop by 20 to 30 percent this year because of the Saudization program,” Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said in an interview yesterday.
Bello cited Saudization program, a government’s effort to prioritize its local workers, as a main factor on the deployment decrease of OFWs.
During his trip to Saudi Arabia to assist more than 1,400 distressed OFWs, Bello noticed less OFWs at malls and terminals, which used to be dominated by Filipino sales clerks and other workers.
Despite sharp decline, DOLE stressed that they do not see a mass displacement of OFWs as Saudi nationals still prefer to hire Filipinos.
“It’s not displacement, it’s more on non-deployment. Those who are already (employed) won’t be affected because (Saudis) really prefer Filipinos over other nationalities,” said Bello.
Bello added that there are alternative markets for workers who cannot find a job in Saudi. The Labor department is targeting Germany and Israel among possible alternative markets to replace the Kingdom.
