How to protect OFWs abroad

A Filipina migrant worker, who was seven-month pregnant, was found dead recently in a vacant lot outside the City of Kuwait. The local police called up the Philippine Embassy and at dawn, we had to rush to the hospital morgue to witness the autopsy and the police identification of the victim. It is not yet clear whether the case was murder or suicide. This incident illustrates the many tragedies involving our OFWs in the Middle East, and all over the world. And our government resources are never enough to respond to the tremendous demands for services. The volume of welfare cases here in Kuwait alone calls for more personnel and budget. Too many Filipinos are in the hospitals and in jails. Too many complaints of illegal recruitment, trafficking and violations of human rights. Our challenge is how to protect our OFWs given the limited resources. Our bosses in Manila are doing their best to help but the challenges are simply overwhelming.

The Role of Government

The role of government in a labor-excess economy is not only to lay down the socio-economic framework to provide jobs and livelihood for the people but also to promote the peoples’ security and well-being. In a labor-excess economy and in a country with a high population rates, the government is not only mandated to provide full employment, but above all, to afford full protection to labor, both local and overseas, organized or unorganized. Yes, we have laws and regulations assuring protection to OFWs against greedy recruiters and cruel employers. But how should government protect workers against murders and rapes and against their own tendencies to commit suicide, in the face of the global financial crisis, coupled by too much pressures from their own family and exacerbated by harsh and unjust working conditions?

Kuwait's total help center

This Labor Attaché, posted in Kuwait, has established a Total Help Center that provides counseling services (including psychological, spiritual, emotional and legal counseling). The government has no budget to pay for counselors but the Labor Attaché has partnered with the Filipino community organizations that are willing to help without pay. The Labor Attaché also provides free lectures on BLAWSFIL (Basic Laws For Filipino). We also put up a Pinoy Library to provide distressed Filipinos a place to read and reflect. We also organize cultural activities intended to educate and entertain, to uplift the spirit and inspire the downtrodden. “

Paralegal Clinic for OFWs

We have organized a Paralegal Clinic where graduates of the BLAWSFIL courses offer their services for free to other OFWs, who have problems about illegal dismissal, non-payment of salaries and benefits. We call the employers and agencies to a conference for purposes of conciliation and mediation. Most of their cases are settled by compromise agreement. But if the parties refuse to settle, the Labor Attaché would refer the case to the labor officials of the Kuwait government for arbitration and adjudication. Yesterday, 31 Filcom leaders graduated from a 7-session, 35-hour training on Basic Laws conducted by this writer. The graduates are ready to operate the Paralegal clinic. In the face of too much problems, we have created our own solution. Instead of just cursing the dark, we have lighted one little candle.

Tidbits: Engr. Richard M. Sungcad, paralyzed and heart-broken, was successfully repatriated by our government from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and is now in the bosom of his family in Ronda, Cebu.

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