The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) has begun the processing of the deployment of household service workers (HSW) to Kuwait.
This comes following the release of a Memorandum Circular containing guidelines that recruitment agencies should follow when deploying overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to the Gulf state
The circular highlights the right of OFWs to report cases of abuse to both Filipino and Kuwaiti authorities in the Gulf state, reported GMA News.
OFWs also have the right to have their own cellphones to be able to contact authorities.
Employers are likewise not allowed to confiscate passport and other documents owned by OFWs upon their arrival or during their employment.
Labor attaché to Kuwait Resty Dela Fuente assured that the Philippine government will take a close look at the guidelines and will see if they are being followed.
“Dahil nakalagay ito sa ating implementing guidelines, at kami naman ay magiging proactive din sa isyu na ito and we will be marshalling the support of the recruitment agencies,” Dela Fuente said.
He added that there are specific fines and punishment in Kuwait for employers who will not follow the imposed guidelines.
The deployment ban to Kuwait was lifted following the signing of the labor deal that seeks to protect the rights of OFWs in the Gulf state.
Despite the total lifting of the ban, OFWs were not immediately allowed to work in Kuwait after the POEA announced it will draft a separate guideline for recruitment agencies and foreign employers.
Deployment of some 3,000 OFWs were delayed when President Rodrigo Duterte imposed a deployment ban to Kuwait following the death of Joanna Demafelis whose body was discovered stuffed inside a freezer in an abandoned apartment in the Gulf state.
