Group appeals to Jeddah labor office to find alternatives for sheltering distressed Filipino workers
KANLUNGAN, a group involved in welfare protection for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), asked the Philippine labor office in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to provide alternative solutions after the government agency announced that it is suspending the admission of distressed female workers in its shelter due to health protocols set by the host country.
“We are suspending the admission of female OFWs being surrendered by their employees due to health and safety concerns,” the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Jeddah said in an advisory.
POLO, while assuring other forms of assistance, recommended that employers of the OFWs ask the foreign recruitment agency of the worker to provide the accommodation.
Kanlungan said POLO should lift the suspension or “there must be a specific pathway identified, offered, and guaranteed to women for accommodation and repatriation, who are denied assistance by their recruitment agency.” — Alyssa Nicole O. Tan
