Monday, August 13, 2007

POEA Turned Blind Eyed to Jeddah Company's Illegal Hiring of OFWs, Documents Show

by Romy Tangbawan & Ronald Concha from Arab News

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) helped Sawary Marketing and Development Group skirt the labor laws of both Saudi Arabia and the Philippines by hiring Filipino workers using visit visas ... It did not take long for the first batch of “trainees” to find out that their future was bleak when they started working in Jeddah. Labor Attaché Bulyok Nilong, head of the Jeddah POLO, raised the concerns of Filipino workers, which included filthy accommodations, workers being penalized with exorbitant deductions for false or minor infractions, non-payment by the company of their medical expenses, among other “maltreatments.” Nilong also raised the concerns of the legally hired workers who were being made to pay for the renewal of their iqamas contrary to Saudi law.

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