Freda Contreras' Dateline Kuwait

This writer chatted briefly earlier with Labatt Pol de Jesus and he said that he was on his way to Al Essa to attend to this new problem. With him on top of the situation, I am sure that this problem will soon be resolved. As was informed by the good Labor Attaché, himself, in an earlier email to me, the case was already settled through a memo of agreement signed between the owner of the company and the aggrieved OFWs. But as always, there's this possibility that employer will renege as what happened. Good that you are there to support the women and Labatt de Jesus is there as well to make sure that the memo is indeed followed to the dot.

Thanks for this follow-up story on the aggrieved Filipina workers in Kuwait.

Freda Contreras
 

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Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants wrote:

Filipino Caregivers in Al Essa Medicare Co. in Kuwait Restless

Filipino caregivers at Al Essa Medicare Co. in Kuwait are restless after their company reneged on a compromise agreement forged in the Philippine Labor Office on Jan. 31, 2008. Because of this the departure of the initial three OFWs to the Philippines scheduled today, February 4, has been postponed.

Al Essa Medicare Co. promised to accompany the three OFWs yesterday to the Sho on (labor bureau) to accomplish the formalities needed for their exit from Kuwait. This never materialized, however. This was due to the company's insistence that the three sign another waiver indicating that they had already settled all the unpaid salaries and other dues of the workers among others. The workers refused to do so. The three include Josephine Tuburan, Gemma Limsan and Jillybeth Dalidig.

Josephine and Gemma were earlier terminated by the company for allegedly "agitating or disturbing other employees".

Jillybeth Dalidig on the other hand is one of nine other Filipinos who have resigned in disgust over the company's unfair-labor practices and stringent limited days off. The workers are only allowed to have a 2-to-3-hour weekly days off even if their visa indicates that they are skilled workers. The three OFWs also informed us that in one of the documents that Al Essa would have provided the Sho on, it was stated that their basic salary is KD120 (US$439) a month. This is contrary to what they were actually receiving at KD70 (US$256) a month. Clearly they are entitled to a back pay of KD50 (US$183) a month for the whole time they worked in said company.

We were also informed by the workers that they were never provided any meals by the company when they were pressuring them to sign said waiver. Earlier we were informed that Jillybeth Dalidig could not accompany them to the Sho on allegedly because a top management official had not signed yet the pertinent documents of Ms. Dalidig. The workers in Al Essa now are restless and are inquiring what the Philippine Labor Office (POLO) can do to assist them given this development on their case. The three workers should be provided with free meals three times a day and be paid for their delayed days by the company. At the same time, the POLO should expedite their repatriation back to the Philippines. It is Al Essa that is agitating the workers because of this development. It would not be surprising if the workers decide to conduct an industrial action to press the company to provide what is due them.

It also shows that the OFWs placement agency named Careplus International Services, Inc., is helpless in providing the workers the necessary assistance as what DOLE Secretary Brion stated in justifying MC04 on Direct Hiring.

From a press release issued by Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants (APMM)
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