OFWs protest planned hike in UAE remittance fees

Sun.Star: Filipino workers in the United Arab Emirates are looking at other options in sending money to their families back home with the planned increase in remittance charges. Alex Bangcola, member of the executive committee of the Philippine Business Council in Dubai and Northern Emirates, proposed setting up a private rural or cooperative bank following the heightened calls to boycott the exchange centers in Dubai. The boycott of the remittance centers would only cause the families of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) to suffer, Bangcola said. He said instead of boycotting the remittance centers, OFWs should put up a private rural or cooperative bank that would take care of their remittances. Aside from putting their own remittance cooperative, some OFWs in Dubai consider sending their money either in two or three months to save the remittance fees since the same amount would be charged per transaction. From the existing two dirhams (Dh) being charged for every remittance transaction, it goes up to seven dirhams to as high as 15 dirhams. The usual free-of-charge given to the fifth remittance has also been scrapped by the Exchange Houses Committee, which groups the exchange bureaus. Indians have to pay Dh7 to Dh15 from Dh10 for an electronic transfer of money to their families. Also, they have to pay Dh15 from Dh10 for an online or telex transfer and Dh5 from Dh3 for a draft transaction, the Khaleej Times reported. It was similarly reported that every remittance or electronic transfer for the US, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and other European countries are now Dh45 from the previous Dh40. Officials said the increase in remittance fees was needed to fund the expansion projects of the government as well as increase the salaries of their employees. Records of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) showed that there are about 100,000 OFWs working in Dubai but these exclude the undocumented workers. - Sun.Star