PH, Saudi Arabia discuss possibility of joint special hiring program for Filipino workers

The Philippines and Saudi Arabia discussed the possibility of a joint special hiring program for Filipino skilled workers, according to the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) on Friday.
 
DMW Secretary Susan Ople said the possibility of having a joint special hiring program was raised due to Saudi Arabia’s push to develop its tourism sector.

“We discussed the possibility of the Philippines and Saudi Arabia having a joint special hiring program for skilled Filipino workers because they are expecting a huge demand, especially for their tourism sector. They are embarking on expansion plans, and they want to attract more tourists to Saudi Arabia,” Ople said at a press conference.
 
“We said that perhaps if they give us the numbers and the profile of workers needed, then we will continue to discuss if there is a need for the DMW to work closely with TESDA and other institutions and to put together a special hiring program just to meet the demands and requests of Saudi employers for skilled workers as well as the Saudi government,” she added.
 
Ople also said that Saudi Arabia plans to explore the possibility of bringing investments to the Philippines.

“I also met with the Minister of Investment, and he echoed the same thing. Sabi nga niya (He said), he would also like to explore the possibility of bringing Saudi investments to the Philippines, facilitating Saudi investments in the Philippines, and looking at tourism opportunities parang exchanges for both countries,” she said.
 
Unpaid claims

Ople said Saudi Arabia created a committee that would meet every week to settle the unpaid claims of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
 
She also said that the funds are now with the kingdom’s Ministry of Finance.

“We no longer inquire about the amount, but what is clear is that it is there, and it is sufficient to pay not just the claims of unpaid workers natin but all the other claims, including those of their people,” she said.
 
She said DMW Undersecretary Bernard Olalia was designated to represent the Philippine government on the discussion of the unpaid claims issue.
 
Ople said the Saudi government also requested more time to settle the claims, adding that they would give more details in the coming months.
 
“They requested a bit more time; they said the committee that meets every week is still discussing the implementation process in relation to the processing of claims and other legalities. They said by next month, which is June, they may be able to give us more details, or kung hindi man June, at least in the coming months,” she said.
 
Ople then told affected OFWs that they are now processing the unpaid claims and that the commitment shown by the Saudi government was “significant progress.”
 
The DMW earlier said it had already received more than 7,500 emails from former OFWs in Saudi Arabia with unpaid wages from their companies that went bankrupt in 2015 and 2016.
 
Ople said that around 10,000 OFWs were affected by this issue.  — VBL, GMA Integrated News