Only skilled workers may be allowed in Kuwait

Only skilled Filipino workers will be allowed to work in Kuwait if the government decides to partially lift the deployment ban to the Gulf State.

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III yesterday said he is not inclined to recommend the resumption of deployment of Filipino household service workers (HSWs) even after Kuwait signed a memorandum of agreement providing protection for them.

“Due to the high incidence of abuses among Filipino HSWs, I may only recommend to the President the lifting of the ban with respect to skilled workers,” Bello explained.

A majority of the more than 200,000 Filipino workers employed in Kuwait are domestic helpers.

Bello said the Kuwaiti government has expressed no objection to the proposed memorandum of agreement drafted by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

“We already received infor- mation that they are amenable to proposed additional provisions like the non-confiscation of cell phones and passports,” he said.

The agreement also prohibits employers from “trading” or transferring the Filipino workers to other employers unless with the consent of the worker, he added.

Kuwaiti officials will arrive in the Philippines in mid-March to discuss and finalize the signing of the memorandum of agreement. They asked for additional time before coming to the Philippines to consult with their legal department.

Bello stressed that the Philippines will lift the deployment only after the signing of the agreement and justice has been attained for the death of Filipina domestic helper Joanna Demafelis.

President Duterte ordered a total deployment ban to Kuwait after the body of Demafelis was found stuffed in a freezer inside an abandoned apartment in Kuwait.