LABOR Secretary Silvestre Bello said the ban on the deployment of overseas Filipino workers would be lifted this week after the Philippines and Kuwait reached a deal that would provide more protection for thousands of Filipino workers, mostly household workers in the Gulf State.
The Labor secretary said he had recommended to President Rodrigo Duterte the partial deployment of OFWs following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding that would ensure the protection and better labor conditions of Filipino workers there.
The DoLE said those OFWs with existing contracts and those who had signed a contract but were affected by the deployment ban last February as ordered by the President could leave the country for Kuwait as soon as the President ordered the lifting of deployment ban.
Under the MoU, Filipino workers will get seven hours of sleep, are well-fed, get to enjoy holidays and won’t have their passports confiscated by their employers.
The two countries also agreed the host country would create a special unit within its police that the Philippine Embassy could liaise with regarding complaints of Filipino workers and a special number that Filipino workers could call for assistance, both available 24 hours.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said under the agreement Filipino workers would be allowed to have a cellphone so they could call the said hotline.
The President imposed the deployment ban following reported deaths of Filipino workers in Kuwait, including Joanna Demafelis, whose body was found in a freezer in the same month, a year after she was reported missing.
In his speech in Marawi last Friday, Duterte said he made several conditions for the lifting of the ban.
“They should comply , no physical abuse. And if there are any complaints, our Filipino workers can call the special police,” Duterte said.
In a major breakthrough in the months-long diplomatic row, officials from both countries signed the memorandum of understanding called the “Agreement on the Employment of Domestic Workers between the Philippines and Kuwait.”
Negotiations for the agreement earlier hit a snag when the two countries figured in the diplomatic row following the Philippine Embassy’s rescue missions for distressed Filipino workers.
Kuwait viewed the rescue operations as a violation of its sovereignty.
This prompted Kuwait to expel Philippine Ambassador to Kuwait Renato Villa, arrest four Filipino drivers who participated in the operations, and order the arrest of three Filipino diplomats.