Starting Monday, Nov. 7, labor offices in Riyadh, Jeddah, and Al Khobar will again start accepting applications for Filipino workers who wish to work in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) announced on Friday, Nov. 4.
In a press briefing, DMW Secretary Susan Ople confirmed that aside from domestic helpers, the Saudi government also warranted the entry of Filipino skilled workers to work in KSA.
“On Monday (November 7), our overseas labor offices in Riyadh, Jeddah, and Al Khobar shall resume setting offers of employment for Filipino migrant workers of all who wish to work in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” said Ople.
However, the secretary emphasized that they have already polished some regulations and conditions for hiring OFWs.
Ople said the Saudi government also promised to promote the welfare of Filipino migrant workers.
“Hindi tayo basta lang magbubukas ng Saudi deployment na walang malinaw at matibay na pundasyon para sa proteskyon ng ating mga manggagawa (We cannot simply send workers in Saudi without a clear and solid foundation for the protection of our workers)," Ople noted.
Ople added that the Philippine government and the Saudi labor officials also came out with guidelines for enlisting recruitment agencies that can be permitted to hire and deploy Filipino workers.
“For the first time, the contract is new and different. Workers already have insurance coverage that will be paid for by their employers. There is also insurance coverage for skilled workers to be paid for by the Saudi government,” said Ople.
“'Yung mga tiwali at mapang-abusong employers sa Saudi at kanilang mga ahensya ay makakasama sa blacklist hindi lang ng Pilipinas kundi pati ng Saudi Arabia (The corrupt and abusive employers in Saudi and their agencies will be included in the blacklist not only in the Philippines but also in their own country),” she added.
The Philippines imposed a deployment ban on household and skilled workers to Saudi Arabia in 2016 due to the reported abuses of Filipino workers there.
This time, Ople assured that “it will never happen again that an OFW will return home without a salary.”
Ople also asserted that Saudi recruitment agencies should establish their welfare desk officers.
“If there are no full-time welfare desk officers, there should be no job orders accepted,” Ople warned.