Saudi firms now actively recruiting OFWs–Baldoz

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz urged undocumented Filipino workers in Saudi Arabia to take advantage of the increasing job openings in several areas in the Kingdom, particularly in Jeddah.

Baldoz said the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (Polo) in Jeddah organized a job fair to convince undocumented Filipino workers to legalize their stay in the oil-rich country.

Baldoz was informed by Labor Attaché Alejandro Padaen that the job fair is gaining ground as a number of private companies have expressed interest to participate so they can hire Filipino workers through the exercise.

Already, Baldoz said a second job fair is being set as more private companies in Saudi are keen on hiring Filipino workers.

“It’s like hitting two birds with one stone: the OFWs get to be hired and find employment while they get to have a sponsor who will back their stay in Saudi,” said Baldoz in a statement on Thursday.

Polo records show there are about 10,000 illegal OFWs—3,500 in Riyadh and 6,500 in Jeddah—who have been registered and profiled since the intensified campaign of Saudi Arabia against illegal workers.

The oil-rich country has adopted the Saudization policy requiring private firms there to prioritize the hiring of Saudi nationals.

The policy will displace some two million undocumented foreign workers including Filipinos.

The first job fair was held at the tent area, where hundreds of undocumented Filipino workers in Jeddah are staying.

World-class hotel groups like the Hilton, Marriott and Ramada Groups have posted job openings for undocumented workers in Jeddah, according to the Polo report.

Other private firms that joined the Philippine job fair include: Aba International, Abdulatif Jameel (Komatsu), Arabian Entertainment, Hill Metals Est., Mesdaaq Furniture, NCT, Pinehill Arabia (Indomie) and Woodroc.

Padaen, in his report, said at least 70 percent of Filipino job applicants are women.

They sought services-related jobs at the hotels.

Meanwhile, Padaen warned Filipinos in Saudi against getting lured by the job offers of a certain Abdul Aziz Khamees, a Saudi national who, according to reports, ordered the removal of the tarpaulin banners announcing the Polo job fair.

He said Khamees is apparently recruiting runaway Filipino women to work for his clients as cleaners, but will take their passports and make them sign a document stating they will pay him a penalty of 5,000 Saudi Riyals if they decide to withdraw the passports.

He said Polo-Jeddah has already received numerous complaints that Khamees failed to deliver the jobs he promised. The complaints were already endorsed to Consul Leo Tito Ausan of the Philippine Consulate in Jeddah.

Baldoz reminded Filipino job seekers overseas to be very careful with their dealings with foreign recruiters, as well as with suspicious recruitment agencies.

“They can always check through the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration’s web site whether the recruitment agency they are dealing with is licensed and if the overseas job they are applying for really exist,” Baldoz said. –Estrella Torres, BUsinessmirror