TIM eMagazine Vol.2 Issue 12
PH-Kuwait
labor pact
awaits formal
signing
T
he labor department is finalizing arrangements for
the formal signing of an agreement with Kuwait on
the protection of Filipino workers, mostly household
service workers, deployed in the Gulf state.
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said the signing
may take place in the first week of April, while the
venue is yet to be determined.
This following the conclusion Friday night of formal talks
between a top level delegation of Kuwaiti officials and their
Philippine counterparts on the provisions of the proposed
agreement which will govern the deployment, employment and
treatment of Filipino workers while staying in Kuwait.
Kuwaiti officials, led by Ambassador Ganhim Saqer Ali Shaheen
Al Ganhim, arrived Thursday to negotiate the terms of the
agreement weeks after the government decided on a total ban on
deployment of workers to the Arab state on the issue of rampant
abuses and the death of Joana Demafelis who was found stuck in a
freezer in an abandoned apartment in Kuwait city in early February.
The Philippine panel in the two-day talks was headed
by Labor Undersecretary Claro Arellano, Administrator Hans
Leo Cacdac of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration
(OWWA), Administrator Bernard Olalia of the Philippine Overseas
Employment Administration (POEA) and Philippine Ambassador to
Kuwait Renato Villa.
Among the major provisions of the agreement include the
prohibition of the surrender of Filipino passport to Kuwaiti
employers, the binding effect of the Philippine-crafted employment
contract, the guaranteed payment of minimum monthly net pay
of $400 paid through the bank, and non-confiscation of mobile
phones and other communication gadgets.
Bello said the talks were stormy on some critical concerns and
hit a snag on the last day on the issue of contract and passport.
“There was an impasse on two critical concerns as the talks were
about to conclude. But we saw a breakthrough in early evening,
and the Kuwaiti panel finally gave in at the last minute,” he said.
Bello also said the talks were a success, but added that its
formal signing would not automatically result to the lifting of the
government deployment ban. dole.gov.ph
Kuwaiti officials, led by Ambassador Ganhim Saqer Ali Shaheen Al Ganhim, arrived
Thursday to negotiate the terms of the agreement weeks after the government
decided on a total ban on deployment of workers to the Arab state on the issue of
rampant abuses.
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