Filipino Victims of Labor Exploitation in Brussels Repatriated

Welfare Officer Sylvia Gabriel of Migrant Workers Office - Berlin, Honorary Consul General for Flanders Ronny de Blaere, and Assistance-to-Nationals Officer Sorhaya Dilabakun of the Philippine Embassy, Brussels with seven Filipino victims of labor exploitation. (Photo courtesy of Sylvia Gabriel)

BRUSSELS 13 June 2024 – Five Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) who were victims of labor exploitation were repatriated on 12 June 2024. Two others were repatriated on 27 May 2024.

The OFWs were recruited by an employer based in Poland, and subcontracted to Belgian companies. Flemish labor inspectors found that the Filipinos had been provided spurious contracts and work permits, and were living in poor conditions.

Through the assistance and support of the DFA Office of the Undersecretary for Migration Affairs, the Philippine Honorary Consulate in Flanders, the Migrant Workers Office in Berlin (MWO-Berlin), and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the Filipinos were repatriated and given support to restart their lives.

OFWs in Europe are encouraged to take steps to avoid being victimized by unscrupulous employers, such as by ensuring that their work contracts and A1 permits or residence IDs are valid. END

For more information, visit  https://www.brusselspe.dfa.gov.ph,  https://www.facebook.com/PHinBelgium/ or https://www.instagram.com/phinbelgium/.