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Article

8 Jun 2017

Author:
Ana Santos, Rappler (Philippines)

Filipinos in limbo in Qatar: Unpaid wages, workers stranded

See all tags Allegations

...Romeo, a 38-year-old Filipino electrician...is among the 19 Filipino and 13 Nepalese employees of MegaTec, a company that subcontracts mechanical and engineering work to construction companies. They resigned last January 2017 after months of not receiving their wages. “It’s so hard. Sometimes they pay us, sometimes they don’t. The reason that they give us is that they have no money. How is that possible? Are we supposed to leave it at that – they have no money?” said Romeo...Romeo and other workers who resigned could no longer depend on MegaTec to regularly compensate them for their work and they grew tired of the company’s broken promises...[O]n average, MegaTec owes the workers about 4 months of back wages amounting to about QAR1,500 (P19,000) per month or a total of about QAR6,000 (P78,000)...Rappler reached out to MegaTec in their Doha office for comment but a representative said that the company was not allowed to speak about the ongoing labor dispute...Going back home is not an option because under the kafala system, an exit permit from an employer is needed for a worker to leave the country. However, an employer will not issue an exit permit while there is an ongoing labor dispute...By Migrante International’s account, there are more than 100 Filipino, Nepalese, and Indian MegaTec employees who have not received their wages...