Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac will visit the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) next month to tackle the unpaid salaries and other benefits of some 10,000 displaced overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) whose companies went bankrupt from 2015 to 2016.
Cacdac further said: “On our list of topics for discussion with our Saudi counterparts is the continuing disbursement of claims due our workers.”
Cacdac said the visit is expected to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries further, even as it hopes to move the matter of the claims closer to completion.
Among the bilateral matters up for discussion are the strengthening of institutional mechanisms ensuring fair, ethical, and safe recruitment and employment of OFWs and Saudi Arabia’s request for more Filipino workers to help in its ambitious Vision 2030 development program.
Over 10,000 OFWs, as well as thousands of other foreign workers in Saudi Arabia, lost their jobs after their companies declared bankruptcy and folded up between 2015 and 2016.
A major turning point in the long-drawn-out legal disposition of the claims cases happened in November 2022 during a meeting between President Marcos and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman (MBS) when the latter said the Saudi government was ready to take on the financial settlement of the claims.
During the meeting, the Crown Prince informed President Marcos that his government was setting aside a 2 billion Saudi riyal fund for this purpose.
In November and December 2023, some 1,500 Saudi claimants started receiving their claims checks from the Saudi Alinma Bank, representing the amounts due to them from their bankrupt companies.
Cacdac is hopeful the next tranche of claims check distribution will occur during the second quarter of 2024.
Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline Cacdac to address OFW concerns during Saudi visit this May