About a hundred workers of different nationalities have joined the 200 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who are staging a work stoppage to denounce the alleged unlawful labor practices of their employer in Saudi Arabia.
In a statement, migrants’ rights group Migrante-Middle East said the foreign workers who joined the protest against Al-Arrab Company (ACC) were from Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal and China.
Over 200 hundred OFWs, composed mainly of engineers, supervisors and construction workers, started a work boycott on Saturday as they accused their company of violations of the Saudi labor law, such as withholding of their 2-month salaries, non-payment of overtime pay, non-compliance with the kingdom’s standard salary rates, unsafe working environment and discrimination.
The protest stemmed from a February 2 letter sent by the workers to ACC and the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh detailing their complaints. Their concerns, however, remain unaddressed both by the company and the Embassy, according to Migrante.
The group added that instead of engaging in a dialogue, the Al Arrab management threatened the striking workers with deportation without giving their due compensation.
Migrante regional coordinator John Leonard Monterona also said the workers reported being forced to sign a waiver, both by the company management and the Embassy, stating that they would end their protest and refrain from seeking help from Migrante.
“We are sensing an anti-migrant collusion between the Al Arrab Company and the Philippine labor officials in Riyadh; they should instead be facing the complaints of the striking migrant workers as these are legitimate [and] the Philippine Overseas Labor Office should serve the best interest of our deployed Filipino workers,” he said in the statement.
Monterona added they are now coordinating with the families and relatives of the 200 striking OFWs and encouraging them to stage protest actions in the Philippines in support of the workers.
No Responses to “100 foreign workers join protesting OFWs in Saudi”
Please Wait
Leave a Reply