About 30 migrant workers repatriated from Kuwait to the Philippines will receive assistance from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, a government body has announced.

Bernard Olalia, administrator of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), said the Filipino workers arrived on Monday and will receive 20,000 pesos worth of assistance that will help in improving their socio-economic well-being, Philippine News Agency reported.

Olalia said the returning migrant workers will also be provided with legal assistance should they decide to file charges against their Arab employers and recruitment agencies.

Most of the returning workers ran away from their Arab employers due to physical and sexual abuse and sought shelter in the Migrant Workers and Other Overseas Filipino Resource Center in Kuwait. Some of the workers failed to receive their salaries, while others were barred from contacting their families and the Philippine embassy.

“We have a number of programs which we can offer to our returning compatriots, one of which is the Balik Pinas Balik Hanapbuhay, where we will assist them in establishing their own business,” Olalia said.

Olalia said the POEA will look into the issues and cases of the repatriated Filipino workers to further understand their conditions in Kuwait and to assess other interventions needed.