THE Philippines and Kuwait have signed an agreement to implement a Standard Employment Contract for Filipino household workers, the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) said Tuesday.
The total deployment ban, however, will remain in place, pending validation of Kuwait’s claims it has formally charged suspects in the murder of domestic worker Jeanelyn Villavende.
“Napirma na… effective na (The agreement is signed and has taken effect),” Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III said at a briefing, when asked about the status of the agreement.
Mr. Bello said the agreement will ensure protection of Filipino household workers in Kuwait. It prohibits the confiscation of the workers’ mobile phones and passports and spells out standards for their proper feeding.
It also outlines specific working and sleeping hours, while requiring written consent if they are to be transferred to another employer.
Meanwhile, the deployment ban, which covers both household workers and skilled workers, will not be lifted, pending the Kuwaiti government’s status report on the case of Ms. Villavende and other murder cases.
“Remember aside from that, I wanted some validation of Kuwait’s claim that (the suspects) were charged (and) behind bars,” Mr. Bello said.
The government in 2018 declared a ban on workers deploying to Kuwait, which lasted four months, following the murder of domestic worker Joanna Demafelis. In May 2019, Malacañang sought the review of its memorandum of understanding with the Kuwaiti government after the killing of another Filipina, Constancia Dayag. — Charmaine A. Tadalan
