RP diplomats to mediate in Filipino workers’ dispute with US firms in Iraq

Diplomats from the Philippine embassy in Baghdad have been asked to mediate in a dispute between Filipino workers and two US companies operating in Iraq, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said yesterday.

Ricardo Endaya, chargé d’affaires at the Philippine embassy in Baghdad, will lead a delegation to Camp Cook, north of Baghdad, to meet with executives of US firms Prime Projects International and Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR) to improve the working conditions of some 300 Filipinos working at the camp.

President Arroyo is closely monitoring the situation, Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said.

"She is satisfied that the situation has been temporarily resolved through the intercession of our chargé d’affaires. The rights and welfare of the workers are our utmost concern," Bunye said, adding that the government will be "always there to help" Filipino workers overseas.

Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo said the DFA had intervened after receiving reports that Filipinos were complaining that working conditions and hours worked on the base violated their contracts.

Camp Cook, a former Iraqi Republican Guard stronghold, has been converted into a giant US military base.

Kellogg Brown & Root manages the non-combat related operations of US military installations in Iraq, while Prime Projects recruits Filipino workers for them.

The workers were supposed to be repatriated when they went on strike but Endaya convinced them to hold a dialogue with their employers and temporarily return to work.

At least 500 workers from India, Nepal and Sri Lanka have joined the strike, Endaya said.

Prime Projects initiated talks with the strikers but these ended in a deadlock. Endaya persuaded the workers to return to their jobs as he took up their complaints with the company.

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration is helping the foreign affairs department resolve the dispute.

The Philippines is the biggest supplier of manpower for US-led coalition forces, with an estimated 6,000 Filipinos working in various camps.

The government last year banned travel to Iraq and brought home its token contingent serving with coalition forces after a Filipino truck driver was kidnapped.

Although he was subsequently freed the incident caused a diplomatic tiff between Manila and Washington, which was opposed to the Philippine troop pullout.

The fate of another Filipino hostage, Robert Tarongoy, who was seized by Iraqi militants in November last year, remains unknown.

The welfare of Filipino migrant workers is a very sensitive issue for the government, which heavily relies on the $8 billion in remittances they send home annually to prop up the Philippines’ fragile economy.

There are about eight million Filipinos working in dozens of countries. Lack of jobs and poor pay force about 2,000 monthly to leave families behind for work abroad. — AFP, Aurea Calica