OFW FORUM
Jun Concepcion
Distressed OFWs are often a pathetic and heart-rending lot. Seriously maltreated OFWs in Saudi Arabia, Qatar or Jordan can’t end immediately their misery and go back home even if some have reached their breaking point. More often than not, they suffer for months before getting aid from relevant government agencies, OWWA, POEA, DFA or DOLE.
A case in point is a single mother in her twenties in Saudi Arabia who planned on committing suicide out of desperation. This writer assisted in talking her out of suicide while facilitating POEA intervention.
Like her, many other abused and distressed OFWs in the Middle East and even some in Hong Kong recently find themselves in desperate need of government help, but are unable to get timely and proper assistance. And it’s mainly because of bureaucratic red tape, an antiquated civil service and inept civil servants.
It’s easy to gauge and determine the sorry state of affairs as regards delivery of government service to distressed OFWs. All that needs to be done is to read posts in various OFW-dedicated Facebook groups. One of these is the OFWs Issues and Concerns. A Feb. 28 video post by a female OFW illustrates the heart-rending predicament of scores of Pinays in the Middle East and the inability of relevant agencies to come to their rescue in a timely fashion.
Some Filipinas with children in Ukraine don’t want to leave behind their Ukrainian spouses, and they certainly need counseling by seasoned social workers who can be reached easily via Facebook.
Hong Kong stands out across the world in safeguarding the welfare and work interests of imported workers. The city’s standard employment contract for its 400,000-odd foreign domestic helpers clearly spells out in black and white their rights and privileges under Hong Kong laws, including their monthly minimum salary and even food allowance. But even the best pieces of legislation are occasionally punctured by loopholes. Summary or on-the-spot dismissals are tolerated under Hong Kong laws. And unscrupulous Hong Kong employers took advantage of this loophole by sacking recently some OFWs who tested positive for Omicron. To their credit, Philippine consulate officials immediately called out errant employers, saying they may be barred from hiring Filipino helpers again. But there was glaring omission though in their statements: whether or not they could find suitable quarantine accommodation for OFWs who tested positive for Omicron.
So how easy or difficult is it for government to improve significantly its services to OFWs, especially those in distressed conditions? Fairly easy! All it takes really is a healthy dose of common sense, out-of-the-box thinking and proactiveness.
The following are my recommendations in this regard:
1] Use Facebook to establish direct communication between distressed OFWs and relevant government agencies.
Across the world, Filipinos are most likely the most avid and frequent users of this social medium. So why not use a communication tool that is widely available?
2] Set up on Facebook an “OFW OWWA/POEA Help Line” and a separate “OFW DSWD Help Line.”
3] Just like in call centers, these help lines should be manned 24 hours a day.
Will getting people to man these help lines entail huge costs? Not at all. Officials of the three agencies can simply issue a circular and ask for volunteers who are to be paid night differential pay on top of their regular salaries. For a rare chance to earn extra, hundreds if not thousands will apply to man these help lines. If 10 people are employed in each shift, then costs can be reduced to a minimum. Each of the 10-man teams should have a supervisor and a deputy, both of whom get entitled to a higher night differential pay.
4] Only mentally-sharp individuals with above average intelligence should be tapped to man these help lines
This can be likened to the elephant in the room. How can typical pencil pushers help those in critical need of government help?
5] Employ on a freelance or part-time basis select overseas Filipinos with intimate knowledge of OFWs
If very much secure in their government jobs, it’s understandable for many civil servants to stop learning new things, giving the best possible public service and even to degenerate in their public service delivery. Because government is deprived of the acquisition of fresh, innovative and more effective ideas, this problem has to be resolved, and the best way to do this is to tap the expertise of select consultants outside the government.
The never-ending pleas today of distressed OFWs for rescue from oppressive work and living conditions clearly reflect weaknesses and deficiencies in government delivery of services to OFWs.
Recommendations in this column can potentially go a long way in substantially improving these services. More likely than not, the current manner of service delivery has hardly changed from several decades ago.
It’s high time to make a critical review of the current service delivery regime and introduce much-needed changes if warranted.
Contact this writer at [email protected]