DFA urges undocumented Pinoy workers in Saudi to correct status

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) urged some 10,000 undocumented overseas Filipino workers (OFW) in Saudi Arabia to correct their status after the Kingdom announced new concessions on May 10.

“Under the new guidelines, workers can return to their original employer upon mutual agreement, or transfer to a new employer even without permission or consent of the original employer,” a statement of the DFA said on Monday.

Based on the concessions announced by the Saudi Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Labor, “all penalties and fines accruing to an illegal worker before April 6, 2013 will be waived, except for regular processing charges,” the DFA explained.

The concession will end on July 3, 2013. "After the deadline, the Saudi govt will resume its inspections and arrest and/or apply fines against violators," the DFA said.

Based on queries received by the labor and consular sections of the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh and the Consulate in Jeddah, the DFA said many undocumented Filipinos are now considering correcting their residency status instead of seeking to be repatriated to the Philippines.

Different options

The Saudi government gave undocumented OFWs different options: to return to their old employer, find a new employer, or leave Saudi.

If an undocumented OFW opts to leave the Kingdom, the "No Objection Certificate" requirement will be waived.

However, this will be waived only if the undocumented worker does not have a pending criminal case.

Any private rights claim will not prevent a worker from transferring employees but the case will still be settled in court.

Surge in applications

To accommodate for the surge of undocumented OFWs and other nationalities availing of the concession, the Saudi Ministry of Labor ordered all labor offices to work overtime, even on Thursdays.

Aside from the 10,000 OFWs, an estimated 60,000 Indians, 7,000 Sri Lankans and 6,000 Pakistanis are expected to avail of the Saudi concession.

Saudi labor offices have already shifted 90 percent of services for expats to online processing to avoid congestion.

Crackdown

The crackdown operations against undocumented workers in Saudi started on March 28 this year because of the “Saudization” policy (nitaqat) or the policy encouraging the employment of Saudi nationals in private firms.

The migrant workers advocacy group Migrante-Middle East said undocumented Filipinos started camping outside the Philippine Consulate on April 11, or five days after the Saudi King announced a three-month reprieve on the crackdown against illegal workers.

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah on April 6 ordered a three-month delay to a crackdown on illegal migrant workers that has led to thousands of deportations. - with reports from Michaela del Callar, Andrei Medina, VVP, GMA News