An overseas Filipino worker (OFW) in Riyadh sought assistance from DAILY TRIBUNE’s digital show Usapang OFW on 12 December, after her employer allegedly told her she must be “sold to another employer” to recover the agency fees before she could be repatriated to the Philippines.

Hazel Fernandez, a domestic worker who arrived in Riyadh last March to care for her employer’s 90-year-old relative, complained of health issues to her agency in the Philippines, RJC Global Manpower Provider Inc., based in Ermita, Manila.

According to Fernandez, she experiences frequent numbness in her face and arms, along with severe headaches and lack of sleep due to overexertion.

The OFW, however, claimed that her repeated complaints to RJC and its foreign counterpart were ignored. She said that RJC sent her an offensive message, which it later retracted, stating: “You need to be harmed by your employer so we can have a reason to bring you back.”

In an interview on Tuesday, RJC denied sending the message.

The agency said Fernandez’s case was filed with Saudi Arabia’s labor attaché on Monday.

“We advised her that if she could no longer work due to health issues, she should stop working. But she’s afraid of her employer. We told her, ‘How can we bring you back to the foreign recruitment agency if you continue working?’” RJC said.

As of now, RJC said Fernandez’s employer has not cooperated. Once the case is processed, the OFW will be transferred from her current employer to the accommodations provided by RJC’s foreign counterpart.