DOLE resolves dispute, repatriates 39 OFWs from Libya

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said it settled a labor dispute involving 39 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Tripoli, Libya and repatriated them in August.

The OFWs complained of delayed salaries, unsuitable accommodations, inadequate food and water, and lack of medical benefits, according to a DOLE press release.

Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda D Baldoz said the 39 OFWs were deployed by First Cosmopolitan Manpower and Promotion Services, Inc, a licensed overseas recruitment agency, to the Al Makarem Company in Al Jameil, Libya.

The workers’ problems were first brought to the attention of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Libya in early June 2010 by one of the affected workers. Later, the other workers joined him in filing a formal complaint.

In his report, labor attaché to Libya Nasser S Mustafa said after verifying the authenticity of the complaints, he demanded payment of the workers’ unpaid salaries, which had by then reached the total of five months’ pay.

“I also demanded the provision of other contractual obligations and benefits, such as humane accommodation and medical attention,” Mustafa said.

He reported that despite early assurances by the employer and the deploying agency that the salaries and airfare for repatriation would be given, Al Makarem Company refused to fulfill its obligations and only three of the workers were repatriated.

First Cosmopolitan Manpower and Promotion Services, Inc advanced the salary of all 39 workers for March 2010. Yet the promised full payment before the Ramadan had not materialized, prompting 15 of the workers to ask for repatriation.

“I already received instructions from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) Repatriation Unit for the repatriation of the workers, so I made the necessary repatriation of the first 18 workers on August 16, 2010. However, I emphasized to the erring company that the workers should be paid first,” Mustafa said.

“Last August 18, the company released in full to all the 39 workers their unpaid salaries. On the same day, five of the affected workers were given their airplane tickets. The settlement was witnessed by a POLO staff.”

On August 22, the workers went home to the Philippines.