Lifting of OFW deployment ban to Kuwait sought

The local recruitment industry yesterday sought a partial lifting of the ban on the deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to Kuwait.

The Philippine Licensed Agencies Accredited to Kuwait (PHILAAK) asked the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) not to impose a total ban and allow vacationing and skilled workers to work in the Arab country.

Recruiters said the government should stop only the processing and deployment of household service workers.

They said Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III should modify Administrative Order 25-18, which suspended the processing of OFWs bound for Kuwait.

The group said the DOLE order would affect skilled Filipino workers.

According to PHILAAK, several Filipino IT professionals, store managers, maintenance personnel, electricians, plumbers and carpenters have been issued visas and are just awaiting their plane tickets from their employers.

Recruitment officials said the total deployment ban was baseless since a majority of the reported deaths of OFWs in Kuwait were accidentrelated and not due to violence.

The group cited the case of an OFW who died of suffocation for using a charcoal heater and another who committed suicide.

The Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry has informed the Philippine government about the deaths of at least four OFWs.

The Kuwaiti government maintained that it has existing laws providing protection for OFWs and other foreign migrants.

Earlier, Bello said the deployment ban does not cover Filipino workers who have secured overseas employment certificates and have booked their flights.

The Philippine government is looking into the deaths of OFWs in Kuwait, Bello said.

The DOLE ordered a total deployment ban in Kuwait on orders of President Duterte amid reports of abuses against OFWs, especially household helpers.