DOLE vows to further assist repatriated Filipino seamen from Libya

DOLE vows to further assist repatriated Filipino seamen from Libya
Analou De Vera April 7, 2019 https://news.mb.com.ph/2019/04/07/dole-vows-to-further-assist-repatriate...

The seven crew members of the M/T Levante left Tripoli with Presidential Adviser on Overseas Filipino Workers Affairs Abdullah Mamao. Photo: DFA/Released
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) assured that it will give further assistance to the seven seafarers who were recently repatriated from Libya.

Aside from the financial and livelihood assistance, the DOLE will extend aid to the seafarers, particularly in “making representation with their manning agency for the payment of their unclaimed wages and benefits.”

“We will coordinate with the manning agency to hasten the payment of their unpaid wages onboard and other monetary benefits. The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration is also ready to provide extended assistance for their reintegration through livelihood assistance and skills training,” said Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III in a statement.

The labor department said that the seafarers visited the DOLE office recently and expressed their gratitude for the help extended them. But they also asked for more assistance as their manning agency has failed to remit some of their benefits.

“We are grateful to the DOLE for providing us necessary assistance to get back on track and we hope that they can help us again in claiming our unpaid benefits from our agency,” said Arturo Taleño, who is among the seven repatriated seafarers.

The seven seafarers, who were detained in Libya in 2017, returned to the Philippines last month after they were acquitted for alleged fuel smuggling.