MANILA, Philippines — To secure safety of Filipino employees, the Philippines plans to pursue talks with Saudi Arabia before lifting Manila’s deployment ban.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in his first State of the Nation Address on Monday said the government plans to negotiate with the Kingdom on terms such as providing employees a decent wage and to ensure that their rights and welfare will be protected.
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“Sa mga susunod na buwan ay magtutungo si [Department of Migrant Workers] Secretary Susan Ople sa Saudi Arabia upang tiyakin na may sapat na puwersang magsisiguro na mabubuksang muli ang empleyo sa bansa, at para maisulong ang ating kampanya laban sa human trafficking,” Marcos Jr. said.
(Migrant Workers Secretary Susan Ople will be flying to Saudi Arabia in the next months to ensure that there will be enough forces to ensure that the deployment of Filipinos employees to Saudi Arabia will resume and to pursue our campaign against human trafficking.)
READ: Ople to lead DMW’s task force against illegal recruitment
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) temporarily suspended the verification of employment contracts and suspended the deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) after thousands of workers were left with unpaid backwages with construction agencies.
This is on top of other issues such as risking domestic helpers to abusive employers.
In May and before Ople assumed her post as DMW secretary, some 20,000 OFWs with jobs waiting for them in Saudi Arabia got stranded in the country because of the deployment ban.
Ople earlier said that she wants to iron out first guidelines on employment safety before lifting the deployment ban.
READ: Ople wants to ensure OFW safety before lifting Saudi Arabia deployment ban
Meanwhile, the chief executive also called on the Department of Foreign Affairs to assist in helping OFWs laid off in the past years to look for new jobs. — with report from The STAR / Rudy Santos