KUWAIT CITY, Feb 1: A Philippine delegation led by Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Silvestre Bello III arrived in Kuwait Saturday morning for a two-day meeting with their counterparts on the welfare and work conditions of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs).

Bello and his group were welcomed by Kuwait Ambassador to the Philippines Musaed Saleh Ahmad Al-Thwaik. Present also were Philippine Charge d’ Affaires to Kuwait Mohammed Noordin Pendosina Lomondot, Labor Attache Nasser Mustafa, Third Secretaries and Vice-Consuls Charleson Hermosura and Adrian Audrey Baccay, Assistant Labor Attaché Cathrine Duladul, and Welfare Officers Llewelyn Perez and Genevieve Ardiente. The Technical Working Group meeting comes amid the Philippines ongoing ban on the deployment of OFWs in Kuwait following deaths of Filipina household service workers in the hands of employers, most recently maid Jeanelyn Villavende.

Bello outlined that technical working groups from both sides will discuss OFW welfare and protection, with focus on household service workers. The goal is to craft a standard employment contract between the Philippines and Kuwait. “This has taken a long time, that is provided under the memorandum of agreement that was signed in 2018. So hopefully, we can agree on this proposed harmonized contract,” said Bello.

The two countries had signed the memo in 2018 in response to the death of Filipina Joana Demafelis, whose body was found in a freezer at an apartment in Kuwait in February of the same year. Her employer was found guilty for her slay. The standard contract seeks to prevent abuse, with its provisions expected to include allowing household service workers to keep their passports and mobile phones, specifying their work and sleep hours, allowing at least one day off a week with pay, and disallowing their transfer to another employer without their written consent and written approval of the Philippine labor attaché.

The Philippines TWG is composed of DOLE Undersecretary Claro Arellano, Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) Administrator Bernard Olalia, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac, and POEA Directors John Rio Bautista and Ria Corazon Lano. On the sideline, Bello and his group were invited on Saturday by the Kuwait Union of Domestic Labor Offices (KUDLO) led by its Chairman Khaled Al-Dahknan to the Foreign Recruitment Agencies- Philippine Recruitment Agencies Joint Meeting under the theme “Working Together Towards A Strengthened OFW Protection and Welfare.”

In attendance also were officers and members of Coalition of Licensed Agencies for Domestic and Service Workers (CLADS) led by its President Lucy Sermonia and Philippine Association of Agencies for Kuwait (PHILAAK) headed by its Chairperson Thelma Uanang. The Philippine delegation and the Philippine Embassy and POLO officials witnessed the signing of the Memorandum of Business Agreement (MOBA) between the Foreign Recruitment Agencies and Philippine Recruitment Agencies.

Bello lauded the signing of the MOBA between the FRA and PRA as good step towards strengthening the protection of Filipino workers in Kuwait. Following the KUDLO meeting at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Farwaniya, Bello and his group also met with the Filipino Community for a dialogue. “My beloved Kababayan, first of all I want to convey the love of our President to all of you. You know very well that our President always thinks of you and your welfare, that’s why we’re here to personally check on you and find ways on how to strengthen the agreement and beef up the protection and ensure all your safety,” reiterated Bello. Bello is set to meet on Sunday with the Kuwaiti Minister of Labor and Social Affairs as well as the Minister of Interior

By Michelle Fe Santiago Arab Times Staff