US military investigates contractor work force (with docs-updated)
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News of the clampdown was first made public by the Ms. Sparky website, which bills itself as being run by an American former contractor in Iraq and often covers issues related to contractors working with the U.S. military. The website posted a memo written by Nolan outlining concerns about the contractors that had been left behind and setting a 20-day timeline for compliance. Nolan authenticated the contents of the memo to The Associated Press.
Philippine officials say there is no reliable data on the number of Filipinos in Iraq, where there is no embassy, with estimates ranging from 4,000 to 10,000 workers.
“We’ve always asked the U.S. and other countries to respect our ban,” said Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Esteban Conejos. “We have always asked them to please help us because it’s dangerous in Iraq. They’ve never been heeded until now, when they’re winding down their operations.”
Carmelita Dimzon, head of the Overseas Workers Welfare Organization — another government agency tasked with protection and promotion of welfare of Filipino workers abroad — said the Department of Foreign Affairs was coordinating with the contractors who were expected to repatriate the Filipinos from Iraq.
“We’ll be there to meet them and find out what they wish to do, if they still want to apply for overseas employment or local employment or they will opt to stay and engage in livelihood activities, then we will offer them some assistance to start up a business,” she said.
Emmanuel Geslani, a consultant of labor recruitment agencies, called on the government to lift the ban on workers in Iraq, at least partially, to allow Filipinos to keep their jobs legally.
“What will our government do now for our workers? Are they just going to let them come back without giving them a slim chance to work?”
“U.S. troops are on a countdown withdrawal stage by August of 2010 with half of the troops remaining until December 2011, which gives the Filipinos one more year to stay and maintain those bases,” he said.
Under a plan by President Barack Obama, the U.S. military will reduce the number of troops in Iraq to 50,000 by the end of August; 75,000 contractors will also remain. All American forces are scheduled to leave by the end of 2011. (click HERE for the original article)
Updated August 15, 2010: The Nepalese Government has in fact rescinded the restriction on their citizens working/traveling to Iraq. Click HERE for that letter.
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Other Related Posts From Ms Sparky
- Complaint says KBR knew of Iraq toxin (updated with docs)
- Senate Investigates Counterfeit Parts in Military Equipment
- NCIS investigates while CID placates contractor crimes
- L-3 Faces Criminal Probe Over E-Mail, Air Force Says – Updated
- New Task Force to look into KBR’s charges for electrical work
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Wednesday, July 28th 2010 at 10:04 am |
The simple answer is this Senator Claire McCaskill
The Army are corrupt, inept and unable and unwilling to manage a contract. How many examples need to float by to demonstrate this? Not even an Army Contracting Command can fix the problem. How many years ago was that whitewash job (Congressional fix) called the Army Contracting Command to Congress established?
DCMA are puppets with Army Contracting Officers running things and the Federal Acquisition Regulations are not what governs policy – it is the whims of the 5-Star called the U.S. Ambassador and in our case we have a left-over Secretary of Defense who needs to be shown the door named Gates. Somebody explain why we still have this guy and he hasn’t been replaced?
Why would anyone think that the corruption that has $ 6.8 Billion missing will not grow to $12 Billion in the next 5 years.
I mean who is more corrupt – Iraq”s; Mohammad Bahr al-Ulloum;Ibrahim al-Jaafari;Ahmed Chalabi;Ayad Allawi;Jalal Talabani;Abdul Aziz al-Hakim;Adnan Pachachi;Mohsen Abdel Hamid;Mohammad Bahr al-Ulloum;Massoud Barzani;Ezzedine Salim;Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawer;Ayad Allawi;Ibrahim al-Jaafari;Nouri al-Maliki who were in the leadership role when the $ 6 Billing went missing
OR
Hamid Karzai ( as he is rubbing his hands together with his tea cozy hat ) and he cannot wait for US to send more money.
Ok, now you put Karzai working together with the Army and the Air Force who are being caught far more often than 4 years ago in Contracting fraud, and we are looking at another $ 5 Billion at a minimum of disappearing.
As for compliance with human trafficking. Do you think Karzai cares? Are we trying to improve our image to – the Afghans – the Taliban – The Pakistani. Really who are we trying to impress? Kharzai isn’t going to complain a bit. This is a great opportunity to move drugs and don’t tell me Karzai isn’t profiting from selling drugs. And we are helping him by bringing in illegals.
Ok, got the picture Claire ?
Wednesday, July 28th 2010 at 10:40 am |
Atta Girl Ms Sparky! you are getting in competition with Wikileaks getting this story visible to the Associated Press.
As for Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Esteban Conejos and Carmelita Dimzon, head of the Overseas Workers Welfare Organization — I have had personal dealings with them and they are part of the problem of Philippine citizens being trafficked into Kuwait to be Visa 20 maids (slaves). They allow the Kuwait Labor (slave) agencies troll the Philippines and then leave them trapped in Kuwait to be raped, murdered, assaulted and committing suicide at a rate of 20 a week. Those 2 are responsible for repatriating workers from Kuwait back to the Philippines quickly – but they don’t. Under Ambassador Endaya ( who I will take credit for getting him fired out of Kuwait short notice) Endaya took 3 – 9 months to repatriate (get a travel document because their passports are withheld) and he used the Embassy as his personal labor agency – for profit. Yet, for treating them well. He did not have one washing machine for 250 women. Yes. 8 – 9 maids runaway (1800s slave term that the Kuwaitis use) a day. Now Endaya, to show how corrupt he was did get a travel document ready in 2 hours one time for 2 Kuwait Policemen that raped 2 maids and wanted to deport their evidence (sounds like KBR doesn’t it) It work, right up until the maids got a phone at the airport to tell their “employer”
Those 2 you speak of are useless. Maybe under the new President they have they will act, but I don’t think so. That entire government sells out their citizens freedom for $ 150 per month with unlimited working hours ( they have no labor rights) and they work 7 days a week with no days off per month. This pandering for slaves is a Kuwait Governmental institution of slavery and the Philippines has 600,000 maids unaccounted for in Kuwait. Why would they care about 10,000 ?
In case you are out of Kuwait and don’t see the news. One Kuwait couple tortured and beat their maid. Killed her by running her over with their car and then placed her on the side of a roadway to stage her “accident”. Another maid was locked on a roof for 3 days without food or water and died. Another was beaten in the head with a tile by a Kuwait woman and the woman is out on a $ 1500 bail after being convicted and sentenced to 14 year > reduced to 7 years > and now out on bail. You have 15 women a week “falling” from apartment building in Kuwait and dying or being severely injured because the lazy Kuwaiti holding their passport won’t let them go free. Did you know that the Philippine Government set the salary for their slaves ?
Frankly, this trafficking doesn’t just end there. Ask AFFEES on each of the 4 bases in Kuwait to ask each worker of GREEN BEAN, Star Bucks, and McDonalds, or whatever fast-food they have on the bases to produce their passport. I bet they don’t have it and the base commanders (Army no doubt). Ask them to put McDonalds, KFC, Star Bucks, Johnny Rockets, Chili’s, Fridays, Applebees, all off limits. Those establishments all withhold the passports of their employees. That is the definition of a violation of Human Trafficking: 2.6 Joint Contracting Command Iraq / Afghanistan Required Instruction To The
Contractor: Acquisition Instruction (AI) 22.1 Prohibition Against Human Trafficking,
Inhumane Living Conditions, and Withholding of Employee Passports (5 Nov 07): All
Contractors (“Contractors” herein below includes subcontractors at all tiers) are reminded of the
prohibition contained in Title 18, United States Code, Section 1592, against knowingly
destroying, concealing, removing, confiscating, or possessing any actual or purported passport or
other immigration document, or any other actual or purported government identification
document, of another person, to prevent or restrict or to attempt to prevent or restrict, without lawful authority, the person’s liberty to move or travel, in order to maintain the labor or services of that person,…. That is right out of the Shuttle Bus Scope of Work for Kuwait. (so not Iraq – Kuwait)
Don’t you soldiers ask when you go to Kuwait City if the person serving you has their passport? You see, I know they don’t because I ask them.
Wednesday, July 28th 2010 at 11:33 am |
Article 80, of the new Kuwait Labor Law states:
Every employer shall keep a separate labour file for every labourer consisting of a copy of the work permit, copy of employment contract, copy of his civil ID card, copies of annual & sick leaves supporting documents, over-time hours, work injuries,occupational diseases, penalties imposed on the labourer, service termination date, service termination reasons, copy of receipts of any papers, tools & experience certificates deliver to labourer by employer.
Do you see in here Al-Sabah (owners of McDonalds) where it says you can keep your employees passports ? It has been illegal in Kuwait for employers to do this, but this form of trafficking occurring even on the U.S. bases in Kuwait.
The (well I did say they were Army) could make a stand and put the establishments withholding passports off limits, but then they would have no hotels to use or fast-food establishments to frequent. Or, they could put their foot down and send a message to the ruler of Kuwait who does this to his own maids and employees. Put the establishments off-limits.
What, are you going to wait for an Air Force Colonel to come and do this for you ?
Friday, July 30th 2010 at 3:19 pm |
There was a new labour passed in Kuwait that states women can’t work at night, but there are women working at night and on the night shift on bases in Kuwait. My question is this, when do individuals and companies become prosecutable by the U.S. government for items such as timesheet fraud, CaC Card application fraud, human trafficking, etc? As it stands now, employees’ who committ such acts are just terminated. I believe that they should be prosecuted because they have broken a USMCJ law and are prosecutable under the MEJA Act, but the companies’ findings are not passed onto CID or any other government agency. When will this stop or is there an agency that you can report these to?
Thursday, July 29th 2010 at 5:36 pm |
In 2004, The Philippine President, Gloria M.Arroyo, signed a law banning Filipinos from working in Iraq and Afganistan. All the while the US Military looked the other way allowing them to work. The letter of July 20th is CYA and I don’t believe this.
More than a year ago, a young army officer at the now closed Camp Q-West, Iraq, got a hold a Filipino Passport. He went to the higher ups with the Philippine Passport Page with the “incriminating” page-not valid to work in Iraq.I told this young officer that they knew about this and he found out!After I told him, he went to his higher ups with this “incriminating page” in the passport.He told me that he should forget about this page. Because if he said anything, it would cause a disruption.
Come on folks about suddenly not knowing this! This was very well known that these guys were coming in through 3rd countries. I am surprised that Ms. Sparky didn’t know about this. This was one of the worst kept secrets in Iraq!
Thursday, July 29th 2010 at 5:48 pm |
I knew that Filipinos were not allowed to come to Iraq but I wasn’t aware that was still in affect and I had never seen a Filipino passport. I agree this is very CYA. I suspect the Iraqi Government and the Filipino Government are somehow involved. If the DoD did not know this was going on then maybe they should let someone run the war…..oh wait….they already do!
Saturday, July 31st 2010 at 5:33 pm |
Philippine Ambassador at large, General Roy Cimatu,(Retired Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines[in the USA-Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff]), was in Iraq in August,2007. He came over here and ‘investigated’. There were lots of noise in the Filipino Media, but effectively there was no governmental action. Filipinos came over afterward because of high unemployment and underemployment. These men and women ,mostly, are very good workers and will miss them here.
Thursday, July 29th 2010 at 8:24 pm |
I don’t have the connections but has anyone ever thought of contacting the press about not only Iraq but Afghan as well? True, they don’t have a stamp on their passport, but it is still an ethical, integrity, and FCPA violation. Heck, give me the POC and I’ll write the article.
Thursday, July 29th 2010 at 11:05 pm |
The stamp has been in the passports for years. KBR has known about it for years but allowed companies like PPI specifically to continue bringing them because most of the KBR people like their relatively proficient English, I say relatively because my experience is that they mostly fake their English skills. The Military has several times tried to end the practice by stopping the issuing of badges to anyone with the stamp but Filipinos especially have a very powerful lobby with KBR and Filipino-American Army officers pushing their case. All contractors have been briefed that the Ambassador from the Phillipines will be in Iraq next week to assess the situation to determine if it is safe for them to work here again….
Thursday, July 29th 2010 at 11:40 pm |
If you get a chance tell him to take a swing by Afghanistan and assess the threat over there
Saturday, July 31st 2010 at 4:16 am |
the people from the phillipines work dam hard even when I was in the navy in the 70′s they looked at the navy for a way out and did a good job some fine people even Nam. was a war zone and we had no problem with them with us than so what’s the bib deal now they die like us also ! just leave it alone for god sake most us. WORKERS WOULD NEVER DO THEIR JOB !!!
Sunday, August 15th 2010 at 7:23 am |
Apparently the Napalese workers in Iraq appealed to their Government by way of a letter writing campaign and their government responded by lifting the travel/work restrictions for their citizens http://mssparky.com/documents/Nepalese_restriction_lifted.pdf
But the Philippine Government stands firm on the restriction. The demobilization plan calls for 60-90 days to get those thousands and thousands of Filipinos out of the country and replaced by legal workers.