Another sorry tale from Filipino job seekers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Philippine Embassy have to back up their ideas as well as their initiative otherwise they are nothing but a redundant agency. I thought with their reputation in tatters, they would have tried to salvage a bit of dignity and usefulness.
It seems not, I think it is about time that these people manning the embassy should be sent home back to the Philippines for a replacement of a better, fresher manpower . It is the only way that Filipinos already in the KSA and people in the know would have confidence with the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh once again.
TO ALL CONCERNED OFFICIAL;
I posted this letter to serve as a wake-up call for embassy personnel based in the Kingdom of saudi arabia (KSA) as well as to the
Above mentioned officials/agencies.The kingdom extended its amnesty program toNovember3,2103 and this opportunity should be grabbed not only by those undocumented OFW but also by the embassy officials designated in KSA.
Last to weeks the embassies of Bangladesh,Pakistan,and India sponsored a JOB FAIR intended for their unemployed including the undocumented citizens(who maybe deported if not legally transferred)on separate dates.Officials from these embassies invited companies all around the kingdom to participate and it widely opened the window of opportunities for the expatriates. Skilled workers (laborers,cook,waiters,welders,steel fixers,drivers,electricians,pipe fitters,operators,etc)and professionals(secretaries,surveyors,engineers,chemist,medical professionals,administrative staff/clerks,accountants,etc)from the above mentioned countries took advantage on applying upon the presence of representatives and executives of various industries.
It sad to note during one of the job fair sponsored by the embassy of Pakistan,when i am assisting an OFW from other countries in processing their application to our company (which was able to hire more than a hundred foreign workers from Pakistan,Bangladesh,and India due to their embassy officials initiative in sponsoring a job fair and there were thousands also were hired by other participating industries)not a single Filipino was hired.You know why?The phil.embassy did not make any initiative similar to other embassies here in KSA.
Learning that i am from the Philippine,the representative from other companies who sat next to our table ask me if when the Philippine embassy will hold similar job fair,I said I did not know because no news were relayed from them. Some companies are looking for Filipino workers including the company where I am currently employed. An added injury to the insult (due to the sex for flight issue that had been published in the news that day) my ears turn red hot when I learned (as relayed to me by my co employee in the HR department because he was summoned by our HR Manager to inquire) that one of the phil. embassy employee was asked why there office did not partake in conducting a job fair wherein some embassies were doing it to assuage the transfer of their citizens who might be hired on the spot by the green status holder industries, the reason given by the phil.embassy employee shocked me for a while··········they don’t want to receive complaints from companies who might be able to hire ineffective workers.what an absurd reasoning? Does the personnel of the phil.embassy did not know the advantages of sponsoring a multi-industries job fair? It is in fact that if the phil.embassy sponsored such one like most of the embassies here in KSA have done,will lessen those Filipino OFW lining up in even camping at the embassy compound without proper protection from the scorching heat of the sun.Its very. unfortunate that our embassy have mindset like that.If I only have the authority, I will really sponsor activity relative to this.The interview and hiring are no longer the responsibility of the embassy but an employer’s duty to scrutinize applicants,it is not already the fault of the embassy if one company will be able to hire an incompetent one.The embassy’s rule is just to sponsor, invite companies, prepare a venue, inform the Filipino OFW’s and facilitate the JOB FAIR.Hiring is no longer a part of their job, it’s the employer.
The Companies ranging from construction,sales,hotels,and restaurant business,food manufacturing,It industries,etc.also took advantage in heeding the invitation since they too will save a lot of time and money in hiring new employees in JOB FAIRS.the participating companies will no longer take the burden of cost in tying up with the recruitment agencies and minus the expenses for a plane ticket since the OFW are already here in Saudi that is why they actively heed the invitation
Does the phil.embassy have no planning officer or any personnel who will take charge of this?what are their plans to the undocumented OFW’s aside from the impending repatriation?The issues of sex for flight must not affect the whole operation in the embassy since not all of them were involved,there are good employees to who are deserving of commendation due to their honest effort in working for the benefit of Filipino OFW.If the ambassador or others officials were accused of,it does not mean the whole embassy will stop of finding ways to re-employ Filipino OFW in saudi arabia.
Now that kingdom has extended the amnesty program of undocumented OFW to november 3,2013 the phil.embassy has a big change to sponsor a job fair or any activities that will alleviate or perhaps resolve the unemployment of undocumented Filipino OFW in Saudi Arabia within the extension period before they will be caught,deported or might be jailed after the amnesty dealine.invite all companies in Saudi Arabia and inform all Filipino OFW in the kingdom,include those who were undocumented and those who were employed under the red and yellow category since the workers of these categories or no longer required with a LETTER OF NO OBJECTION from their current employers.the expats can even choose to which industry might give them a better offer
I am posting this letter in the net and to various website and anticipating that it will be read by those concerned offices/agencies.If I will send a formal letter,it. might fall under the desk and to be covered by voluminous documents or by the time it will be read,the deadline of extended amnesty will be over.
wake up Phil.embassy in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,please do an effort while there are still time.To our higher government officials,please instruct ASAP the Philippine Embassy Officials to facilitate a job fair similar to what other embassies have done last two weeks.
Lastly,I am very much thankful that King Abdullah showed his compassion to the flight of OFW by allowing the extension of the amnesty deadline since it gives more time to process the required papers to legalized more undocumented Filipino OFW.
sincerely yours,
JOSE JAY JARDIN SALIGUMBA
HUMAN RESOURCE SPECIALIST
AND OFW IN SAUDI ARABIA
P.S
Help me share this letter and post this to your FB wall,the more you help me share,the bigger it gets the change to be read by concerned authorities and to wake them up to do something while the amnesty was extended to November 3,2013.There are more Filipino who were not able to take the advantages of the job fair as what the other embassies did to their citizens.