The Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) said on Saturday the government is ready to help distressed overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Labor Secretary Marianito Roque said the government, through the DoLE, is pursuing conciliation and mediation efforts to help 236 distressed OFW nurses and medical workers of a hospital in Jeddah, which is set to close.

“The Philippine government will ensure all possible assistance to ease the plight of the distressed workers,” said Roque.

“I already directed the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Jeddah to continue to pursue an all-out effort to help all adversely affected workers in consultation with the host country,” he said.

According to Roque, he had also directed Philippine Labor Attaché to Jeddah, Vicente M. Cabe, to fully ascertain the impending closure of the hospital, and explore all possible alternatives and solutions to assist the affected OFWs.

The distressed OFW nurses and polyclinic workers were employed by the Al Ansar Hospital at the Al Salama district in Jeddah, the Kingdom’s capital.

The workers had initially complained of non-payment of their salaries for six months and persistent harassment by the hospital’s management, including its alleged refusal to issue the workers’ release papers so they could look for other possible employment.

The OFW nurses said that the governor of Jeddah had ordered the Al Ansar management to release all the adversely affected workers due to its impending closure, but the hospital management was allegedly not keen on following the order.

As of last June 1, only 59 of the 236 workers had been given their release papers.

The workers are also reportedly still waiting for the release of their unpaid salaries for six months.

Meanwhile, the group Migrante had earlier said that of the 236 OFWs working at the hospital, about 50 percent are polyclinic workers, while the rest are nurses.

Citing Cabe’s report, Roque said that the POLO in Jeddah had already pursued intervention efforts to conciliate the case and render the necessary assistance to the adversely affected OFWs.

The ambassador also assured Roque that the measures applied were consistent with Philippine laws, particularly Republic Act 8042 or  the Migrant and Overseas Filipinos Act’s policies to ensure social, economic, and legal services to Filipino migrant workers.

Earlier, Cabe said that the POLO in Jeddah successfully aborted a threatened walkout by OFWs at a prominent fast-food chain in the Kingdom’s capital, following conciliation and medical measures it initiated.

“The conciliation and mediation efforts resulted in the mutual benefit of the workers and the company involved in the case,” said Cabe.