Sacked OFW in Dubai fights for benefits

By Delfin Mallari Jr.
Inquirer Southern Luzon
First Posted 14:54:00 06/28/2009

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LUCENA CITY, Quezon—An overseas Filipino worker in Dubai has appealed to the Philippine government to help him get his separation benefits and passport from his former employer, an Indian-owned company.

Emmanuel Calayag, former municipal environment officer of Dolores, Quezon, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer in an e-mail that he was terminated by his company Maxxcom FZCO on May 3, 2009 without prior notice. He also said the company had his visa cancelled on May 22, 2009.
Calayag once worked as sales executive in Maxxcom, which sells computer and other information technology products. He said he did not violate any of the terms and conditions stipulated in the employment contract or any of the provisions of United Arab Emirates labor law.

He said company officials informed him that his service was being terminated because of the worldwide recession. Worse, they refused to turn over his passport, which prevented him from getting another job in Abu Dhabi and refused to pay for his plane ticket back to the Philippines as well as other separation benefits.

“Until now, they keep my passport in spite of several requests I made to the company to hand over my passport to me. I also informed them that they cannot keep the passport because it is illegal in the UAE for the employer to keep their employees' passports but they still keep it,” he said.

He said company officials advised him to just leave UAE.

“However, when I asked them for the plane ticket and gratuity for my rendered services, which I am entitled to, considering the number of months I worked with the company, i.e., from October 09, 2008 to May 03, 2009, they refused to do so,” he said.

He said he recently informed the Philippine consulate office in Dubai about his plight.
Edwin Gil Mendoza, Philippine vice consul in Dubai, wrote his boss, Ramesh Balani, managing director of Maxxcom FZCO, to seek for the return of Calayag’s passport.

“I am sure you are very familiar with UAE laws stating that it is illegal for employers to retain the passport of their employees especially when the employees themselves expressly declare that they wish to have possession of their own passport,” Mendoza told Balani in his letter dated June 25.

Calayag said Balani ignored the demand of the Philippine official.
“He (Balani) said he will just surrender my passport to Jafza (Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority). This is a blatant disregard of Philippine authority,” he said.
Without his passport, Calayag said he could not get a job with an Abu Dhabi company that had expressed willingness to hire him.

“I have to continue the fight for my right to work, as an eye opener for the government that there are lots of OFWs who suffer the same predicament,” he said.

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