Pay cuts and delayed salaries: OFWs affected by Libya's economic woes

Some Filipino workers in strife-torn Libya are appealing for help amid pay cuts and delays in their salaries, according to JP Soriano's report on Unang Balita on Thursday.

Maria Hazel Mendoza Pureza, who has been working as a nurse in Tripoli since 2006, said there was a 75% reduction in the value of what she earns due to the adjustment in the conversion rate from US dollar to Libyan dinar, which is now at 4.48.

Aside from pay cuts, salaries of many healthcare workers in Libya have been delayed for months already.

"Five months na kaming hindi nakakapag-remit ng pera. Last week lang sila nag-open [para] maka-withdraw kami, tapos sa remittance ang tagal-tagal ng proseso nila," Pureza said.

To make both ends meet, Pureza said she resorted to loans.

"Ang hirap, nandun yung talagang hihiram ako sa colleagues ko, sa mga may extra money," she said, adding her mother and grandmother in the Philippines helped pay for her children's tuition.

The African country's economy suffered from a civil war, a problem that was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Another OFW, Ma. Christina Arboleda, a teacher, said despite the dire economic situation, they have no plans of leaving Libya, which she said treated them well.

"Mapapamahal ka talaga sa Libya kasi they really love you and respect you," she said.

The Philippine Embassy said it is appealing for forms of assistance from the Libyan government in behalf of the affected Filipino workers.

There are more or less 2,000 Filipino workers in Libya, most of them in the healthcare sector. —KBK, GMA News