Migrant Workers Secretary Susan Toots Ople has said that negotiations are ongoing regarding the unpaid salaries of thousands of former overseas Filipino workers in Saudi Arabia.
Ople stated in a palace briefing that she was supposed to return to Saudi Arabia, but officials there have appealed to extend the deadline.
“Yung sa unpaid salaries, dapat sana December kami tutuloy, but upon the request of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development o MHRSD, ‘yun ang aming counterpart sa Saudi Arabia, they requested for more time to arrange our visit dahil ‘yung sa unpaid claims, hindi pala sa kanila ‘yun nakaatang. So they wanted time for… certain arrangements to be made so when I go there I will be able to meet with the right person in the Office of the Crown Prince,” Ople said.
Ople is optimistic that she can return to Saudi Arabia as soon as possible.
“Definitely, ang agreement, that is number one in the agenda,” Ople said.
Ople did not disclose the amount they are negotiating with the Saudi government.
Saudi Arabia previously pledged to pay around 2 billion riyals to cover the unpaid wages of OFWs.
Around 9-11,000 workers are expected to claim unpaid salaries since 2015-2016.
