Saudi OFWs start to get unpaid wages but PH banks won't accept cheques

Some of the around 10,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who lost their jobs due to the oil crisis have already received cheques for their unpaid wages in Saudi Arabia after more than a year of waiting.

However, Philippine banks are not accepting the cheques because they are from Saudi Arabian banks and in Saudi riyal, according to Sandra Aguinaldo's report on Unang Balita on Friday.

Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) officer-in-charge Hans Leo Cacdac said the Philippine government will address the concerns of the OFWs.

“There will be an appropriate announcement in one or two days about the manner in which we will help,” Cacdac said.

Some of the OFWs are requesting for a master list of the claimants from Saudi Arabia so that the DMW will have time to work on the inclusion of those who are not on the list.

In October, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. earlier said that Saudi Arabia assured him that the settlement of the OFWs’ unpaid wages was already being processed.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in November 2022 committed to allocate some 2 billion riyals for the unpaid salaries of OFWs employed by construction companies that declared bankruptcy in 2015 and 2016. —Joviland Rita/ VAL, GMA Integrated News