OFW rights violations ‘on the rise’ in UAE

Apart from Kuwait, labor rights violations are also on the rise in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) organization.

In a statement, Migrante-Middle East warned of growing labor rights violations in the UAE, especially among cleaning service workers.

“Migrantes from the Middle East are disturbed by the increasing cases of contract substitution and labor rights violations experienced by OFW workers in the UAE, especially in cleaning services,” Migrante said.

“We call on the Philippine government and its local representatives to take a hard look at the plight of our OFWs in the cleaning industry and take immediate action against the unscrupulous agencies involved,” it added.

Citing reports it has received, employers of a large number of struggling Filipino cleaners hired through the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) have violated their labor rights and overall welfare.

Migrante said they discovered upon arrival in the host country that the main contract they had signed had been replaced and/or amended without their consent.

They added that the cleaners were subjected to multiple labor misconducts, such as extended hours without overtime pay and proper breaks, unjust wage deductions and other unlawful company policies.

Migrante also noted how cleaners endured verbal and emotional abuse and incidents of sexual harassment.

“These conditions have had a detrimental effect on employees both physically and mentally. Tragically, some have even resulted in death,” the group said.

“It is disheartening to know that this is happening, even though most OFWs have to pass and comply with the many onerous requirements that the state claims are supposed to protect Filipino migrant workers,” Migrante added.

There are approximately 650,000 OFWs across the UAE.

In February, the Ministry of Migrant Workers temporarily suspended the deployment of newly hired domestic workers to Kuwait following the death of OFW Jullebee Ranara. (HDT/SunStar Philippines)