Kuwait set to initial deal in bid to recruit Ethiopian domestics
Union chief hails PAM-Philippines embassy’s co-op
KUWAIT CITY, March 6: Kuwait is expected to sign a labor recruitment agreement with Ethiopia within two weeks in a bid to solve the domestic worker crisis in the country, reports Al-Qabas daily.
The contract signing will most likely happen after presenting the agreement to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
This step is taken to pave way for the recruitment of domestic workers from Ethiopia, especially before Ramadan as it is the time when extra hands are needed in many Kuwaiti households for preparations during the holy month.
Official sources informed the daily that the Ethiopian side has submitted its comments on the agreement.
In a related development, Head of Kuwait Union of Domestic Labor Offices Khaled Al-Dakhnan confirmed to the daily that there have been efforts and continuous followup with the Ethiopian side to finalize the procedures and open the door for recruitment soon.
Departure
Al-Dakhnan praised the efforts exerted by the union, in cooperation with the Public Authority for Manpower (PAM) and the Philippines Embassy, to complete procedures for Filipino domestic workers who were in the shelters prior to their departure from the country.
Filipino workers stuck in the shelters was one of the major obstacles to resuming the recruitment of domestic workers from the Philippines, which has been suspended since February last year.
Al-Dakhnan expect that upon these workers’ arrival in their country, the Philippine Embassy will submit a recommendation to its government to resume the recruitment of domestic workers.
He added: “After presenting the recommendation to the Philippine government, it is expected that the new domestic workers will be brought here before Ramadan.”
It is worth mentioning that on March 2 and 3, Kuwait, in coordination with the Philippine Embassy, completed procedures for about 300 Filipino workers, including 54 who were in the shelter for migrant workers.
In a recent statement, PAM affirmed its keenness to facilitate the labor procedures in the shelter for expatriate workers and to ease procedures for rectifying their status; citing the completion of procedures for 54 female Filipinos inside the shelter in preparation for their return to their country.