Amid the issue of the sudden closure of an Auckland-based construction company in New Zealand which displaced at least over 400 overseas Filipino workers, one of the OFWs disclosed that they were provided a special permit to find a new employer.

In an exclusive interview with DAILY TRIBUNE’s digital show “Usapang OFW,” Romeo Caballes, a resident of Cebu City and working as a carpenter in New Zealand, said that the special permit to stay in New Zealand will last for three months.

“We have a working visa in New Zealand. Since we lost our current employer, they provided us with a special permit for us to stay in New Zealand until we find a new employer. They gave us three months to find a new job,” Caballes said.

Caballes added that since the firm — identified as ELE — was shut down, they have not received any payment for a week.

“We haven’t been paid for one week and two days. They owe us more than 1,000 NZ dollars. Our apartment rent is 650 dollars per week, and there are four of us sharing the cost,” Caballes said.

However, despite not being paid by the agency for a week, Caballes said that the Philippine Embassy in New Zealand provided financial assistance to the displaced OFWs amounting to 1,050 New Zealand dollars or P36,193.81, adding that they are confident enough to find a new job with the three-month stay given to them.

When asked if they have any plans to go back and work in the Philippines, Caballes stressed that they are not open to it as they earn triple in New Zealand.

“We came from Japan; we were recruited there. We were carpenters in Japan. Uniplan agency recruited us for Japan, based in Quezon City. We spent one year in Japan. From Japan, One World Recruitment Agency recruited us for New Zealand. Alpha Recruitment Personnel sent us to NZ. They are partners. The salary in New Zealand is higher than in Japan. In Japan, I earned 57,000, while in New Zealand, it’s around P150,000,” Caballes said.

Meanwhile, the Department of Migrant Workers officer-in-charge Hans Leo Cacdac has instructed the Migrant Workers Office in Wellington to extend full assistance to the OFWs, including immediate financial aid and employment facilitation assistance to OFWs laid off from the closure of ELE Holdings Limited due to bankruptcy.

and Vivienne Angeles