PARAÑAQUE CITY, Nov. 6 (PIA) -- The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has acknowledged the easing of contractual restrictions for foreign workers including Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Saudi Arabia effective March 2021.
Under the Labor Relation Initiative of Saudi Arabia, the workers now have the freedom to change jobs and leave the country without needed permission from their employers. This action has been done after Bahrain and Qatar junked their KAFALA system or the slavery system for migrant workers.
The DFA sees the move to allow foreign workers the right to change jobs by transferring sponsorship to new employers as a victory in protecting the welfare of the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
The plans include foreign workers’ right to leave the country without employers’ permission, according to Abdullah bin Nasser Abuthunain.
The aim is to improve Saudi Arabia’s labour market attractiveness, Abuthunain said.
Restrictions in Saudi Arabia have tied millions of low-paid and vulnerable migrant workers to their employers in conditions that have been rife with abuse and exploitation.
The Ministry of Human Resource and Social Development said the reforms will allow foreign workers the right to change jobs by transferring their sponsorship from one employer to another, leave and re-enter the country and secure final exit visas without the consent of their employer, which had long been required.
The new so-called “Labor Relation Initiative” will affect approximately 10 million foreign workers in the kingdom, about a third of Saudi Arabia’s total population. (PIA NCR)
Source: Philippines Information Agency (pia.gov.ph)
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