Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 10)— The government of Saudi Arabia has requested for more time to process unpaid salaries of displaced overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said Tuesday.
DMW Secretary Susan Ople said in a media briefing that Saudi officials are still finalizing the trip of the Philippine contingent, who were supposed to meet their counterparts last month to iron out details of the backpay.
“They wanted time for certain arrangements to be made, so that when I go there, I will be able to meet with the right person,” Ople told reporters.
“They promised that they will give us the itinerary and schedule for the Saudi trip within the week,” she added. “But definitely, ang (the) agreement is that that is number one in the agenda.”
The Saudi government had committed to shoulder the unpaid wages of around 10,000 OFWs displaced from construction companies that went bankrupt in 2015 and 2016 due to the kingdom’s economic slowdown, the Palace announced in November. These include the Saudi OGer, MMG, and the Bin Laden group, among others.
Ople said she understands the plight of the OFWs who have been waiting for the pay, especially with the holiday season passing.
However, she noted she won’t be releasing the specifics of their planned discussion for now.
“The ball kasi is really in Saudi Arabia’s court. So I want to be quite prudent and responsible. Wala akong sasabihin [I won’t say anything] about it until we finally meet in Saudi Arabia with the officials (who) are tasked to work this out with us,” the DMW chief said.
