Fall in Oil Price leads to Jobless Filipinos in Saudi Arabia

03 Aug Fall in Oil Price leads to Jobless Filipinos in Saudi Arabia

On August 2, Tuesday, in Saudi Arabia after a fall in oil prices sparked
construction layoffs, thousands of jobless Filipinos, Indians, and Pakistanis are stranded and penniless.

Garry Martinez, chairman of the Migrante group, said that Filipinos have nothing to eat and have to go through garbage for food to survive after being unpaid for months.

There are 20,000 Filipinos that were affected said the Migrante coordinator Gilbert Saludo, after he returned from Saudi Arabia last month after two years of working there.

There was financial aid for the OFWs who were affected but Saludo said it won’t be enough to sustain their lives. He also added that the labor problem appeared likely to worsen.

Saludo said, “It will get much worse because so much of the income of Saudi Arabia comes from oil. So their budget for infrastructure and other projects will not be met and more people will be affected”.

Last July, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello from Philippine Labor Department had visited Saudi Arabia to assess the problem but he would not elaborate.

Filipinos could not leave Saudi Arabia due to lack of proper permits and some of them are still hoping and waiting for back pay said the Migrante officials.