THE Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) will suspend acting on contracts of first-time overseas Filipino domestic workers bound for Kuwait, DMW Secretary Susan Ople announced on Wednesday, February 8, 2023.
In a statement, Ople said the deferment will remain “until more safeguards are in place for the protection and welfare” of the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
“The application of first-time migrant workers specifically for household services in Kuwait shall be deferred until after significant reforms have been made resulting from upcoming bilateral talks with the said country,” she said.
“Yung mga baguhan, never before nagwork as kasambahays abroad or ‘yung nagwork as kasambahays pero hindi sa Kuwait ay kailangan maghintay muna dahil nais tiyakin ng department na may mas maayos na monitoring at mas mabilis na response system in place bago sila tumungo doon,” Ople said.
(The newbies, those who have never worked as domestic helpers abroad or those who worked as a domestic helper but not in Kuwait must first wait because the department wants to make sure that there is better monitoring and faster response system in place before they go there.)
The decision came following the death of Jullebee Ranara, a Filipino household worker whose body was burned and abandoned in a desert in Kuwait.
The alleged suspect was the 17-year-old son of her employer who is now under police custody.
Ople said they will offer applicants Hong Kong and Singapore as a strong alternative to Kuwait.
She said they opt not to impose a total deployment ban to Kuwait in consideration to the OFWs currently working there as well as those who wanted to go back to their former employers.
The DMW secretary expressed optimism that significant changes can still be made to the existing bilateral labor agreement that the Philippines has with Kuwait noting that the government has undertaken similar steps before with other countries to ensure the welfare of the OFWs.
“We have also been informed through diplomatic channels of the willingness of the Kuwait government to engage in bilateral labor talks. We are preparing well in advance for these talks, bringing with us an accumulation of abuse done over the years, hence the need for significant changes,” Ople said. (SunStar Philippines)