The decade-long wait for the settlement of unpaid wages for nearly 10,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) abandoned by their Saudi employers is drawing to a close. The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) has recently informed the affected workers to coordinate with their group leaders and the agency to expedite the payment process.
Hans Cacdac, the acting head of the DMW, confirmed receiving information regarding the payment of claims from former employees of Saudi Oger and Mohammad Al Mojil Group, as communicated by the Al Kheraiji law office. The first batch of eligible workers has been identified, and their names have been distributed to their respective group leaders.
To ensure a smooth payment process, the workers are urged to update their contact details via the provided channels: phone (0920-5171059) or email (saudiclaims@dmw.gov.ph).
This development comes after a prolonged period of diplomatic tension between the Philippines and Saudi Arabia, stemming from the unpaid salaries of OFWs by major Saudi companies that went bankrupt in 2015 and 2016. The issue, which led to thousands of OFWs being stranded in Saudi Arabia without pay or the means to return home, was a significant point of discussion during President Marcos’s visit to Riyadh last October. His dialogue with Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman resulted in a commitment from the Saudi government to resolve these unpaid wages.
The affected companies, including Saudi Bin Laden Group, Saudi Oger, Mohammad Al-Mojil Group, and various subcontractors, had left their employees unpaid and stranded following a downturn in oil prices in 2016.