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News broke recently that some 300 Filipinos working for Saudi Oger – one of the biggest construction firms in Saudi Arabia – were holed up inside a camp in the city of Jeddah, unable to leave because they had not been paid for the past five months and their residence permits had expired.

A report on the Philippine online news site InterAksyon said thousands of migrant workers were gathering outside the company’s gates each day to await word about their salaries.

Workers from India and Pakistan had already gone on strike, it said.

Nicon Fomeronag, a spokesman for the Labour Department here, told InterAksyon that Saudi Oger informed the Philippine embassy in Jeddah that it could not yet pay |its workers because of delays in |payments from the Saudi government.

InterAksyon also reported |that Filipinos working for steel |firm MMG-Mohammad Almojil Group had not been paid a year’s worth of salary, although they continue to work at the company’s factory in Damman, also in Saudi Arabia.

Another big Saudi contractor, Saudi Binladin Group, meanwhile, has sent word that it will lay off some 5,000 Filipino workers next month “in light of the mass layoffs and austerity measures being employed by the Saudi government”, according to the overseas workers advocacy group Migrante. |– The Straits Times

Big tech firms expanding in Singapore, says PM

Major global technology companies are expanding their operations in Singapore and creating opportunities for Singaporeans, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said.

And Singapore has to make sure it remains a nation of opportunity for all and is a liveable, endearing home, he told 2,500 residents at a Chinese New Year dinner in his constituency, Ang Mo Kio GRC.

In a short speech, Lee shared some observations from his recent week-long visit to the United States for the US-Asean Summit, where he also visited tech giants in Silicon Valley and caught up with Singaporeans working there.

He noted that companies like Google, Facebook and Apple have big operations in Singapore and are expanding their local presence.

They hold Singapore in high regard, even though it is small, has no hinterland and costs are not low. – The Straits Times

Businesses frown on Malaysia’s foreign worker suspension

The Malaysian government has been asked to review its decision to suspend the intake of foreign workers as it will erode the country’s competitive edge.

Penang Chinese Chamber of Commerce president Choot Ewe Seng said the hardest hit would be the construction, manufacturing and service industries, which had become too dependent on foreign labours.

He said the government should consider how its latest decision would impact these industries.

Building Materials Dealers Association president Lim Kai Seng said there were more than one million foreign workers in the country, of which 30,000 were in Penang earning between 1,500 ringgit (Bt12,700) to 2,500 ringgit per month. – The Star