The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) eyes to regulate visa trading, the transfer of an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) from one employer to another, in Kuwait.
According to Labor Undersecretary Ciriaco Lagunzad, the administration aims to bring up the proposal during the meeting between the Philippines and Kuwait.
“We will bring up the issue of visa trading because that is allowed in Kuwait and once that is done and our worker transfers from one employer to another, we will again lose track of our workers,” Lagunzad said.
Under the proposal, the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) will check the new contracts of OFWs first before calling them to the POLO for a physical confirmation of the acceptance of the contract.
Moreover, a written consent from the original employer will be asked.
“We observed when we were in Kuwait that this visa trading has resulted to the untrackable problem. Transferring from one employer to another,” Lagunzad added.
The regulation is one of the proposals under the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Philippines and the Gulf State, which seeks to protect the rights of the OFWs in Kuwait.
“Some of the more important inputs that I have submitted to them would have something to do with the improvements in the protection of our workers. And it would range from assistance as they arrive in Kuwait until they are actually handed to the employers,” Lagunzad said.
“Assistance in the registration and visitation. And verification of the place of work and the actual employer is being proposed. Because we would like to make sure the employer named in the contract is actually that the employer…they would be handed to the actual employer,” the DOLE official added.
Another proposal under the MOU is to set up alert systems in cooperation with the Kuwaiti government and call centers in the POLOs.
“So that if there will be any complaint and emergency case. And there is a technology based alert system for our workers so they can immediately call the assistance of the police. So that they can be rescued if rescue is necessary,” he continued.
“We are willing to setup our own call centers in the POLOs. 24-hour call centers will receive calls. But you know, we cannot rescue and enter the house of employers. So part of the system is to alert the police and the immigration and authorities so that they will be able to do it,” Lagunzad added.
Lagunzad further remarked that the lifting of the deployment ban to Kuwait is highly dependent on the outcome of the negotiations.
“But the general statement is we should be assured that our workers are better protected this time. I refer to the domestic workers and we would like to see several practical measures and procedures and even changes in policy for us to be assured that they will be protected,” the DOLE official concluded.
Earlier, a team of Filipino officials was sent to Kuwait to discuss with the Kuwaiti government the ways to protect the rights of the OFWs, particularly the household service workers (HSWs).
Among the deals secured to protect the Filipino household service workers (HSWs) include a minimum monthly salary of KD120 (P20,700), 8 hours of rest per day, possession of their passports and mobile phones, and limiting their work to one household.
The meeting between the two countries is set to continue in the Philippines, as an 8-member delegation of Kuwaiti officials are set to arrive in the country this week.
