PH-Kuwait ties back to normal – Malacañang
After figuring in a diplomatic row, Malacañang said that the relationship between the Philippines and Kuwait is now back on track with signing of the “Agreement on the Employment of Domestic Workers between the Philippines and Kuwait” on Friday.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque, in a press briefing late Saturday night, said the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signifies that both the Philippines and Kuwait are now willing to put the past behind.
Among the highlights of MOA that will benefit Filipino workers are:
• Employers shall guarantee Filipino domestic workers’ rights
• Employers shall provide Filipino workers with food, housing, and clothing; register them in health insurance system
• Employers should not keep Filipino workers’ passports and other personal identity docu-
ments
• Employers should allow Filipino workers to use cellular phones and other means to communicate with their families and their government. They prohibited from confiscating the gadgets
• Employers with contract violations records of abuse are disqualified from recruiting Filipino workers
• Filipino workers shall be allowed reasonable opportunity to remit monthly salary
• Aggrieved Filipino workers shall have access to the services of the Department of Domestic Labor
• Employers shall facilitate repatriation of Filipino workers upon contract completion or labor contract violation in accordance with the laws and regulations of Kuwait
• Strict enforcement of agreed wage in contract and minimum age requirement
• Establish a mechanism which shall provide 24-hour assistance to domestic worker
• Provide legal assistance to workers concerning violation of labor contract
Philippine obligation On the Philippines' side, the agreement states that it should ensure:
• That the “arriving domestic workers meet the medical requirements” imposed by the Kuwaiti government
• That the arriving domestic workers from the Philippines must have no criminal records and possess good behavior
• That Philippine recruitment agencies shall not charge or deduct from the salaries of the domestic workers “any cost attendant to her/ his recruitment and deployment or impose any kind of unauthorized salary deductions”
• That the domestic workers have completed trainings and were oriented on the Kuwaiti laws, customs, and traditions
• That domestic workers should also follow Kuwaiti laws, morals, ethics and customs when they working in the Gulf state