Philippine Domestic Workers To Return, But With Conditions

It has been reported that the Philippines is planning to resume sending workers to Kuwait in the next few weeks, provided that more measures are taken to ensure the safety of Filipino domestic workers in Kuwait, reports Al-Qabas.

Sources explained that the Philippines has decided to apply in Kuwait a set of measures that are currently in effect in some countries. Among them are imposing strict penalties on recruitment agencies in the Philippines and Kuwait, and preventing domestic workers from being sent to employers who are not contractually obligated to employ them.

According to the Philippines, those who wish to recruit domestic workers must "compliance with the rules and the terms of the contracts concluded, take duly pledges to adhere to ethical and fair employment standards, and be able to obtain all required licenses in Kuwait or the Philippines."

The Kuwaiti offices will have strict control over their employees in Kuwait. A 24-hour hotline will be available. In the case of laxity in this matter, the offending office will be added to a ban list that prevents Filipino workers from being recruited there in the future.

Moreover, the Philippines will appoint specialists qualified for social care responsibilities from the Philippine Labor Office. As part of their duties, they provide regular reports on employment in Kuwait and domestic worker problems, provide aid and assistance, and assign a qualified office to monitor and respond to employment problems, giving them the right to take direct action to resolve them.

Further measures will be taken against Kuwaiti offices including the cancellation or suspension of their privilege to recruit or hire foreign workers. In the event that they violate regulatory laws, they will be placed under surveillance. There will be penalties if licenses are revoked due to violations, or if criminal records have been registered against the office, or if the office is unable to solve employment problems, or if the office has more than five pending problems.

A Filipino worker who wishes to work at home will require permission from his/her employer to possess and access a phone, as well as travel documents.

According to Bassam Al-Shammari, an expert on domestic labor affairs, "Holding the owner of the office responsible for monitoring labor and imposing penalties on him if he fails to solve problems eliminates the role of the Department of Domestic Labor in the Public Authority for Manpower (PAM) in following up on labor affairs."

In many countries, including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Philippines wishes to apply the same rules inside Kuwait. It should be noted, however, that the Kuwaiti contracts include everything the Philippines asked for to ensure the safety of its workers.

Kuwait currently has 200,000 domestic workers from the Philippines, of whom 99.4 percent are women. Twenty percent of them face normal problems."

The PAM should be activated in order to carry out its duties in terms of following up employment issues relating to this category instead of requiring embassies and offices to intervene.

He stressed that the guarantee system should be activated for employers so that there is a refundable amount for the recruiter that represents part of the annual dues, which can be liquidated in favor of the worker in the event of nonpayment.

Filipino employment has increased significantly in the past year 2022, he explained. Statistics show that 64,000 Filipino domestic workers entered the country, and only 7 percent left. Many of those who left were faced with various challenges that led them to abscond and seek refuge at the Philippine Embassy.

 

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