30/04/2022
Overseas Foreign Worker Woes…. OFWW…
OPEN LETTER: CALLING FOR SUSPENSION OF CONTRACT VERIFICATION AND OEC AT POLO-OWWA
Dear POLO-OWWA,
A lot of people have tagged me about their recent experiences in getting OECs. I was at the Consulate last week and saw it myself too.
💔 People are coming to your office as early as midnight just to ensure they could get in when you open at 8 in the morning.
💔 They had to sleep seated by the pavement (or sand)
💔 People take leave from work to endure 4-5 hours in a long queue under the heat of the sun.
💔 People spend money traveling from as far as Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah only to get cut off.
PAGOD. PUYAT. PERA. TIIS GUTOM.
I thought we already have a plan to completely abolish OEC? Whatever happened to the idea to build a database for OFWs so we can completely get rid of this useless requirement?
If you cannot provide a good customer experience or at least improve the processing of contract verification and OEC, please scrap this. NOW.
Isn’t it ironic to preach you care for OFWs welfare yet you let us burn under the sun? Isn’t it ironic to ask us to respect the policies, yet you do not respect our time?
You know that Dubai and the Northern Emirates have a growing population of OFWs. Why has there been no upgrade made in recent years? When the pandemic happened, everybody shifted to digital yet POLO-OWWA, your processes and your website remains medieval
Many of us already find it difficult to take a holiday break from work, and your useless requirement just adds up to the woes. I always wonder why our own “welfare” agency makes it even harder for us to travel back to OUR HOME COUNTRY.
I may have a small voice but may I please again suggest that you consider the following suggestions:
1️⃣ WORK 24/7
Work smart. Hire more staff on a shifting basis. It’s not a new idea anymore. If there’s high demand then rotate your people. Be proactive. If we can endure coming in the wee hours of the night, what’s preventing you from having longer office hours?
2️⃣ EXPAND THE OFFICE
What makes you believe that you can serve hundreds of thousands of OFWs in a small room in a villa? Allocate funds to invest in satellite offices.
3️⃣ REVAMP THE WEBSITE
Obviously, it’s long overdue. We’re in the metaverse era now yet you can’t even provide a simple appointment system that really works. As a UX design consultant, talk to me about revamping the website to make it useful and improve the experience of the people - online and offline. Or better yet, build an app - you have all the reasons to invest in it.
4️⃣ DIGITALIZE EVERYTHING
I wonder what happened to the millions of photocopies that you have received from all of us over the years? Everyone has emails. We know how to use QR codes. We use WhatsApp more than ever. The pandemic has educated us to embrace digital. What’s holding us back?
Allow people to do these on various digital channels.
5️⃣ TRAIN OR HIRE MORE COMPETENT PEOPLE WITH GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE SKILLS
While I understand that their work could also be stressful, a little show of empathy would allow them to understand what the people in the queue are going through. Having rude staff just adds up to the already stressed OFWs.
And, I repeat myself, if these measures cannot be done, please suspend, if not totally scrap, this useless requirement.
It’s not rocket science to realize that these suggestions could and should be done.
Hoping you’ll listen,
Boy Dubai
Link to the blog: https://boydubai.com/contract-verification-polo-owwa-oec-ofw/
Photo by Michael T
(Up next: the new mandatory insurance requirements..)
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