The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has begun the process to settle the wage claims of returnee overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).
The OFWs were forced to return home in 2016 without getting paid with their salaries and end-of-contract benefits.
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Secretary Silvestre Bello III has also directed the creation of a technical working group (TWG) to expedite “the process of the pay and benefits of some 9,000 Filipino workers.”
The inclusion of OFW representatives in the TWG has also been ordered which will meet with its counterparts from the host country to hasten the processing of the claims.
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As per the Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration (OWWA) all specific details, such as eligibility, distribution mechanism, and documentary requirements will be finalized through the TWG and should be ready before the scheduled visit of Saudi Arabia’s Labor and Social Development Minister Ahmed Al-Rajhi to Manila in December. (AW)
