By Katrina Gracia Consebido
The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) on Wednesday, Feb. 8, deferred the applications of first-time overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) going to Kuwait.
DMW Secretary Susan Ople said first-time OFWs who want to work in Kuwait will have to wait until bilateral talks with the country.
Ople noted they need to set up an efficient monitoring system first in Kuwait to make sure that all OFWs are safe and have a quick response system in place before their deployment.
“Yung mga baguhan, never before nag-work as kasambahays abroad or yung nag-work as kasambahays pero hindi sa Kuwait ay kailangan maghintay muna dahil nais tiyakin ng department na may mas maayos na monitoring at mas mabilis na response system in place bago sila tumungo doon,” Ople said.
Ople said she believes the Philippine-Kuwait bilateral labor agreement can still be improved.
“Why not just impose a total deployment ban? Because there are actual OFWs who have already worked in Kuwait for several years who still want to go back to their old employers or seek new ones,” she continued.
Ople added that the government of Kuwait has expressed their “willingness” to “engage in bilateral labor talks.”
“We are preparing well in advance for these talks, bringing with us an accumulation of abuse done over the years, hence the need for significant changes,” Ople said. – gb
