DOLE drafting stricter guidelines on Kuwait deployment

MANILA, Philippines — As the government resumes deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to Kuwait, recruitment agencies will undergo close scrutiny by the Department of Labor and Employment.

DOLE Undersecretary Jacinto Paras said he will convene a meeting with the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) and Overseas Welfare Administration to draft new guidelines on the deployment of OFWs to the Gulf state.

To be included in the guidelines, Paras said, is the review of the licenses of recruitment agencies deploying workers to the Arab country.

“We will review the licenses of the agencies and allow to deploy workers only those that are not notorious,” Paras said, adding that those that constantly comply with POEA rules on the hiring of OFWs will be prioritized.

Paras said agencies will be also required to provide training, particularly for household service workers (HSWs), prior to their deployment.

“The new guidelines for processing shall also mandate provisions in employment contracts addressing the protection of the rights of workers, including that the HSWs be allowed to sleep a minimum of seven hours daily, (work six days a week and be given one rest day), allowed to cook or buy their own food and retain and use their cellphones, among others,” Paras added.

Paras added that President Duterte said there is a need for new guidelines providing maximum safeguards and security for OFWs against abuses and maltreatment.

Last week, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III issued the order lifting the ban on the deployment of newly hired Filipino professionals, skilled and semi-skilled workers as well as domestic helpers.

Bello disclosed that about 5,000 are ready for deployment to Kuwait while over 15,000 are being processed.

Despite the lifting of the ban, Bello said the government would be stricter in the processing and deployment of OFWs.

He said the government has also formed a task force to address illegal recruitment.