The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration will look after recruitment agencies deploying underage OFWs to Saudi Arabia, an OWWA official said Friday.
OWWA Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac said those proven guilty of violating overseas employment policies should be held responsible for their offenses.
Cacdac, during his trip to Al Khobar, discovered the plight of abused Filipina domestic workers who were deployed to the country under the allowed age of 23.
OWWA has laid down the steps to be taken against the defiant agencies:
– Informing the Saudi Labor Office about the deployment;
– Raising the issue at the Philippine-Saudi joint committee meeting on the two countries’ bilateral labor cooperation agreement; and
– Taking decisive steps at stopping some agencies’ illegal practice of faking the age of their recruits.
“Ayon sa batas kapag nag-deploy ang Philippine recruitment agency ng underage, e automatic cancellation ng license, pwedeng habulin sa pagparusa dun sa ahensya at pangalawa ay ang paghabol nung dapat bayaran dun sa worker ng ahensya,” said Cacdac.
Cacdac, along with Labor and Welfare officials, flew to Al Khobar last week to give assistance to the 1,470 OFWs affected by the Azmeel Contracting Company lock-out.
