By Recto Mercene
Saudi Arabian households want the salaries of their househelp slashed by half, in the face of shrinking standard of living in that Middle Eastern country brought about by persistent low prices of oil and a glut in the world market.
Recruitment consultant Manny Geslani said many Saudi women employers want salaries of househelp reduced by 50 percent, from the present 2,000 Saudi riyals (P25,000) to 1,000 Saudi riyals (P12,900).
He said Saudi women are complaining of the high wages being paid to Filipina househelp, who receive a monthly salary of 1,500 Saudi riyals (P19,365), the equivalent of $400, under a bilateral labor agreement forged in 2013 by then-Labor Secretary Rosalinda D. Baldoz.
The agreement also imposes additional benefits, like nine-hour workday, overtime pay, opening of bank account for the househelp, one-day off “and one of the highlights of the bargain is the stipulation that employers could no longer keep the worker’s passport,” Geslani added.
Domino effect
“Because of the new labor agreement, deployment of Filipino household service workers (HSW) to Saudi Arabia went up to 30,000 in 2014, from 11,000 in 2013, and increased to 70,000 in 2015.”
However, the price of crude oil, which stood at $120 per barrel in 2015, plummeted to $30 in 2016. It had a domino effect on government spending, which cut or canceled government projects worth $120 billion.
“As a result, huge government contractors, like Saudi Bin Laden, Saudi Oger and Mojil, failed to pay the salaries of 11,000 Filipino workers resulting in starvation and despair for our OFWs,” Geslani said.
This year deployment has gone down to 40,000 HSW due to contraction of the Saudi economy.
One third of Saudi Arabia’s 32 million citizens are dependent on foreign labors. Today, with the kingdom facing a substantial loss of oil revenues, a renewed threat of Arab Spring from young jobless citizens looms, and it is now renewing its “Saudization” scheme with zeal.
Pampered life
Saudization means employing locals, instead of expats, in the private sector to reduce its foreign-reserve outflow. Started in 1995, the scheme remains an elusive dream because many Saudis abhor manual labor, grown accustomed to a pampered life, subsidized by their “black gold.”
But King Salman, in a series of Royal Decrees in September this year, has ordered drastic cuts in many sectors. He said salaries of ministers be slashed by 20 percent, Shura Council members by 15 percent, and another 15-percent cut on car and housing perks, including the price of vehicles, expenses for drivers, maintenance and fuel during their four-year term, according to Arab News.
Overtime bonuses were also curbed at between a quarter and half of basic salaries, while annual leave may now no longer exceed 30 days. The monthly transportation allowance for employees during vacation days will be stopped.
The annual leave for the ministers and those in the similar rank will be 36 days, instead of the current 42 days. They will be compensated for the days exceeding 90 days from their annual leave credit.
Appointments and hiring in all vacant posts and programs in all government posts will be halted until the end of the current fiscal year.
Another other Royal Decree scaled back financial perks for public-sector employees.
Salary fix
The Federation of Labor Committees in Saudi Arabia has called for fixing a minimum salary for Saudi workers in the private sector to achieve labor-market stability.
“This is also essential to attract Saudis to the private sector, as well as to protect their rights with employers who intent to recruit cheap labor,” according to the Saudi Gazette.
The Kingdom’s harsh measures were meant to further spread the burden of shoring up public finances to a population accustomed to years of government largesse.
“By curbing what many Saudis had for years taken for granted, the government is signaling a determination to reduce the highest budget deficit among the world’s 20 biggest economies amid low oil prices and a lingering war in neighboring Yemen,” the Arab News said.
Following reports of the laid-off OFWs, President Duterte has ordered the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and its attached agencies the immediate repatriation of Filipino workers from Saudi Arabia, after the extent of the current oil crisis came into light.
DOLE’s move
IN October Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III helped in the repatriation of more than 2,000 workers, who arrived on various flights at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia). Another 1,000 OFWs are waiting for their exit visas to be able to leave Saudi Arabia.
The Overseas Workers Welfare Association said these laid-off OFWs are entitled to the Relief Assistance Program and other financial- and business-assistance packages.
Geslani said the rest of the OFWs have opted to remain in Saudi Arabia, hoping for new jobs offered by Saudi companies and also to wait for their much-delayed salaries from the beleaguered companies negotiating for new loans to pay their debts.
There is an estimated 9,000 to 11,000 Filipino workers who were retrenched when falling oil prices destabilized the Saudi economy and forced construction companies to cut down on employees. Many Filipinos remain in Saudi to settle their legal cases and claim their end-of-service benefits and salary or transfer to financially stable companies.
Overstay
The kingdom’s Ministry of Civil Service has refused to renew the contracts of 478 expat medical professionals working at King Saud University (KSU), among them Filipinos. The ministry said these workers had spent a long period of time in the kingdom and that there were qualified Saudis to replace them, according to the Etemaad Daily.
The Saudis also called for the implementation of the Civil Service Ministry’s requirement that a contract worker’s period of service should not exceed 10 years in Saudi universities. This comes in the wake of reports that the kingdom wanted to cut reliance on foreign workers and recruiting only highly technical workers and monitoring investments closely, the Arab News said.
“The kingdom will now be more selective in hiring foreign workers while giving highlights of the annual budget,” King Salman’s minister of finance said.
“Hence, the plan to reduce its reliance on overseas workers is quite logical,” Finance Minister, Al-Assaf said.
1 comment
cut government expenditure