KUWAIT CITY: Amid an alarming rise in the number of distressed household service workers (HSWs) at the shelters, the Philippine government is exploring the possibility of imposing a moratorium or temporary suspension on the deployment of Filipino HSWs to Kuwait until the rights and welfare of HSWs are fully protected.
This statement was made by Philippine Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Undersecretary Ciriaco Lagunzad who recently visited Kuwait with Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac to check on the condition of some 500 Filipino distressed household service workers (HSWs) who are housed temporarily at the Philippine Embassy shelter in Hateen and POLO-OWWA shelter in Faiha as well as at the Kuwait government operated Migrant Workers Shelter in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh, reported Arab Times.
“I’m in favor of the temporary suspension so we can study all the cases and start anew. We all know that Kuwait has its Domestic Workers Law but it still needs to be fully implemented that would greatly benefit our Filipino HSWs and other expat domestic workers,” Philippine Ambassador to Kuwait Renato Pedro Villa reportedly said.
The Domestic Workers Law in Kuwait is yet to be fully implemented, though some steps have been taken to date by the Kuwait government to promote the rights and protection of domestic workers. The law grants around 600,000 domestic helpers in Kuwait, most of them Asian women, a 12-hour working day, a day off once a week, and 30 days annual leave.
It also obliges employers to open a bank account for maids and transfer their wages to the account to resolve the problem of delays or non-payment of salaries and other provisions. There are over 220,000 Filipinos in Kuwait and around 154,000 of them are working as household service workers.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte had recently directed the two visiting officials to explore all avenues to expedite the repatriation of all the wards who were victims of various forms maltreatment such as physical, verbal and sexual abuse, non-payment of salaries, lack of food and overwork, said the news portal.
Based on the embassy records, around five to 10 HSWs run daily to the embassy for help and for every one HSW repatriated to the Philippines, around three to five replace her at the shelter. “The President called me up and asked me when can you all go home. You’re all in the mind and heart of our President,” Lagunzad told the wards.
Filipino advocacy groups welcomed the possible imposition of moratorium.
“We have been pushing for this moratorium since 2013 but the previous government trashed it but hopefully with our new government, hopefully this time, President Duterte will heed our call. The number of maltreatment victims has been increasing, rapes happen every day, hence, it’s the apt time for the moratorium,” stated Mary Ann Abunda, Founder of Sandigan, an OFW advocacy group based in Kuwait.
“We will monitor and we will see if our government, POEA and our Labor office will act on all these pressing is- sues,” Dr. Chie Umandap, the Founder and Chairman of Ako-OFW, a group of advocates from various parts of the world bound together to protect the rights and welfare of OFWs, was quoted as saying by Arab Times.
