The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) will enforce stricter measures in the deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to Kuwait to protect them from abuses and from illegal recruiters.
Migrant workers secretary Hans Leo Cacdac made the announcement after the Philippines and Kuwait governments had reached an agreement to resume the recruitment of domestic workers.
Cacdac assured Kuwait-bound of heightened protection and enhanced monitoring of their conditions with the lifting of visa to Kuwait.
He said the deployment of professional, skilled, and semi-skilled Filipino workers to the Middle Eastern country will resume, while domestic workers may also be deployed, provided that they have worked overseas.
“Among the measures included in the implementation of a system for the Blacklist and White list of Recruitment Agencies and employers that will participate in the resumption of deployment, the provision of salaries of OFWs through electronic payment to ensure timely payment of wages, and the appointment of welfare officers to monitor, report, and assist OFWs in the whole-cycle of their labor migration,” the DMW said, adding that “both countries also agreed to establish a joint technical working committee to immediately and periodically meet and resolve labor-related issues and other concerns,” he said.
The DMW chief said the lifting of the deployment ban would reopen opportunities for professional, skilled, and semi-skilled Filipino workers to work in Kuwait while domestic workers should have prior experience working overseas before they can be deployed to Kuwait.
To further ensure OFW protection, the Philippines and Kuwait also agreed to establish a joint technical working committee to periodically meet to resolve labor-related issues and other concerns.