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OFWs, dependents’ concerted action pays off

BAGUIO CITY (Mar. 31) — The concerted efforts of the 38 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) held by the Annasban Sub-contracting Group in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and their families are now paying off.

Out of the 38 OFWs, 13 are already home; 3 are under the custody of the Philippine Consulate in Jeddah; and the repatriation of the remaining 22 is under process.

“It is the organized and unified action of the OFWs and their families that pressured concerned government agencies and officials to act on of the repatriation of the 38 migrant workers,” Migrante-Metro Baguio Chairperson Flora Belinan stressed.

Belinan said that Migrante appreciated the actions of concerned government agencies and individuals. However, she said it is taking them very long to repatriate all the 38 OFWs. She added that the longer they stay in Riyadh the longer they will suffer.

Earlier Nordis reports showed that the said OFWs were held for staging a strike due to unfair labor practices of Annasban in January. The same reports revealed that the OFWs wrote local officials asking for assistance.

On March 7, the former Annasban-held OFWs, relatives of the remaining OFWs in Riyadh, and Migrante had a dialogue with Senator Jamby Madrigal here and asked help.

A letter from the office of Madrigal to Migrante showed that the senator negotiated with Annasban regarding the repatriation of the said OFWs. The letter also indicated that Madrigal negotiated for the custody of the OFWs, but Saudi’s law states that only the employer has the right to custody of its workers unless the workers escapes or runs away. # Kim Quitasol for NORDIS

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