Deployment ban to Kuwait partially lifted
THE Philippine government has partially lifted the deployment ban to Kuwait, following the approval of a harmonized agreement that provided added protection to Filipino workers in the oil-rich Gulf state.
The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) governing board allowed the partial lifting following a marathon meeting at the office of Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello 3rd, who sits as chairman of the board.
Under the POEA resolution, household service workers or domestic helpers are still covered by the ban. But,new and returning skilled and semi-skilled workers will be allowed to leave.
“Finally, the proposed harmonized contact of employment was agreed upon by the Kuwait government. This is a measure that would provide effective and sufficient protection to our overseas workers,” Bello said.
“Exempted from the ban are skilled workers, professionals including semi- skilled workers,” he added.
According to Bello, the deployment ban would be totally lifted once the Kuwaiti government submits a report on the death of domestic helpers
Jeanelyn Villavende, Constancia Dayag, Joanna Demafelis and another Filipina who was raped upon arriving at the airport.
“In the case of Villavende, I wanted some validation of their claim that they [accused employers] were formally charged and they are behind bars. We have to be contented who have been charged and what are the nature of the charges,” the Labor secretary said.
The employment contract prohibits employers from keeping any of the worker’s personal identity documents such as passport and allows workers to own and use their phone outside working hours.
The overseas Filipino workers are also entitled to a paid full day per week break and must not work for more than 12 hours a day. The worker should be allowed to have no less than an hour break after five consecutive hours of work, and the right to at least eight hours of consecutive night rest.
Employers are also prohibited from assigning a domestic worker to outside of the State of Kuwait or transferring a worker to another employer without his or her written consent.