Embassy to honor Filipinos on ‘Migrant Workers Day’

The Philippine Embassy in Riyadh will be celebrating Migrant Workers Day 2012 on June 7-8 at the Philippine Embassy grounds in Riyadh. Several activities have been organized by the embassy for its people.

Ambassador Ezzedin H. Tago said that the Migrant Workers Day is celebrated in the Philippines and in all other countries where there are Filipinos. “This occasion gives us a singular opportunity to remember the contributions of the overseas Filipino workers in nation-building. After all, migrant workers and their families constitute a sizeable sector of Philippine society. ”

The event will commence with messages from the President of the Republic of the Philippines, the Vice President, Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Secretary of Labor and Employment, and other high officials of the Philippine government.

The embassy will then honor 10 outstanding employers of Filipino workers in Riyadh in the “Recognition Night” on the evening of June 7. The awardees will be selected by a joint committee composed of embassy officers and Filipino community leaders. The awardees who will be representing the different business sectors are Prince Sultan Cardiac Center and Aba Namy Hospital in the health care; El Seif Engineering Construction Co. and ABV Rock in the construction; Jarir Bookstore and Saudi Arabia Company for Hardware in the wholesale/retail trade; Almarai Company in food manufacturing; Al Babtain Company in power generation; Ibralin Company in the restaurant business; and Al Hamrani Company in diversified businesses.

The program recognizes the excellent work of Filipino workers in these companies. The outstanding employees are chosen by their respective companies themselves.
 

At 7:30 A.M. on June 8, different teams from registered Filipino community associations in Riyadh will converge for the friendly matches featuring traditional Filipino games such as patintero, agawan base, luksong sako, and piko. The games will be managed by a sports committee composed of Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) officers and leaders of the Filipino community.

The day will also feature a health awareness program that will start at 10 AM with a short presentation on diabetes and hypertension, two common ailments afflicting Filipinos in Saudi Arabia. After the presentation, a medical and dental team composed of Filipino health professionals in Riyadh will provide free medical services such as check-ups, health counseling, and tooth extraction to the attendees. Relevant info leaflets on healthcare will be distributed during the course of the program.

The workers’ forum will start at 4:00 PM at the Chancery of the Philippine Embassy. It is intended to provide awareness and knowledge about rights of workers under the Saudi labor law and private rights law, and remedial measures that may be taken to protect workers’ rights, including interventions of the Embassy/POLO in Riyadh. Resource persons will explain topics of particular interest such as contractual rights and obligations, payment of benefits, legal procedures for case settlement, job abandonment, etc. Other relevant concerns will be discussed such as assistance to nationals, family counseling, and services and benefits of the Pag-IBIG fund, Social Security System and POLO-OWWA. The forum will be managed by POLO.
 

For more information, please contact the POLO at polo_riyadh@philembassy-riyadh.org.