Accepting applications for household service workers in the Gulf State by the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) had resumed on Monday, June 4, 2018.
This has been confirmed by Chargé d’Affaires, a.i. Mohd. Noordin Pendosina N. Lomondot in an interview at the POLO Office in Al-Siddeeq, Kuwait. He claimed they already received the guidelines coming from the POEA (Philippine Overseas Employment Administration) in Manila, following the signing of Administrative Order 254-a which lifted the deployment ban of domestic helpers in Kuwait by DOLE (Department of Labor and Employment) Secretary Silvestre Bello III.
The said guidelines set by the POEA are in accordance with the agreement of 2 countries on the employment of domestic helpers on May 11, 2018.
As such, a household worker should pass the training from a POEA accredited institution and should attend an orientation concerning the law, customs, and traditions of Kuwait, to familiarize themselves of the country.
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The guidelines also include the proof of financial capacity of the employer, to support the ability to pay the right amount of compensation to the worker.
Labor Attaché Resty Dela Fuente said, “May isang requirement na nadagdag. Iyan iyong employer’s proof of capacity to pay salary of the domestic worker. We will be meeting all the recruitment agencies so we could agree on what kind of proof they will be requiring.”
He also said that the Philippine Recruited Agencies (PRA) are directed to follow the guidelines and help the government to implement it.
The Philippine Embassy expects more personnel to assist all 260,000 OFWs in Kuwait as well. It is noted that out of the total number of OFWs, 150,000 of them are working for household service.
With the developments and the positive outcome of circumstances, the Kuwait government had expressed its appreciation on the efforts exerted by the Philippines in maintaining diplomatic relations with their country, Lomondot shared.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kuwait through the office of the Deputy Foreign Minister expressed appreciation of this new development which is considered a good step for the two countries to move forward and re-strengthen their friendly bilateral relationship.”
Meanwhile, the Embassy of the Philippines and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kuwait are continuously holding meetings to discuss the provisions and the implementation of MOU (Memorandum of Understanding).
