Some 32 distressed Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) were repatriated home during the celebration of Eid’l Adha.
The Filipino workers reportedly experienced different forms of abuse from their employers according to the Philippine Consulate in Dubai.
Some 1,356 Filipinos were repatriated in the first half of 2019. The consulate shouldered the cost of their repatriation.
Repatriated Filipinos were sheltered at Migrant Workers and other Overseas Filipinos Resource Centre (MWOFRC) run by the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Dubai (Polo-Dubai).
“Polo-Dubai has a number of trainings and other interventions for Filipinos sheltered therein. The shelter was not only their temporary home but also a centre which enhanced their skills. We help and guide people change their life for the better,” Philippine Labor Attaché to Dubai and Northern Emirates Felicitas Bay told Khaleej Times.
Polo-Dubai reported that 99.41 percent of those who sought refuge to their shelters entered UAE through tourist visas.
Most of them left their employers after experiencing abuse.
Majority of Pinay OFWs ran away due to alleged maltreatment – overworked, given no food, and experienced verbal or physical abuse – while five per cent have unpaid salaries and the rest had medical problems.
The labor attache said that repatriated Filipinos were given reintegration programs before they were sent home.
Repatriated OFWs were also given livelihood programs an and social services for as part of their reintegration program.
