Employment Agencies Urging DOLE to Exempt Skilled Workers From Deployment Ban in Kuwait

A group of recruitment agencies are now pleading to the Department of Labor and Employment to allow the deployment of skilled Overseas Filipino Workers and those are currently on vacation to Kuwait.

Deployment Ban to Affect Hundreds of OFWs

The Philippine Licensed Agencies Accredited to Kuwait is opposed to the Administrative Order 25 released by DOLE since it will affect hundreds of Kuwait-bound OFWs.

Many skilled workers who have been selected by companies in Kuwait will be most severely affected by the present suspension. These skilled workers are IT [information-technology] professionals, store managers, maintenance personnel, electricians, plumbers, carpenters have been issued visas and are just awaiting their plane tickets from their employers.

There Should be Exceptions

Emmanuel Geslani, a recruitment consultant, said that PHILAAK expressed concerns about the impact of AO 25 since there are about 1,100 OFWs bound to Kuwait every week. The group also mentioned that the suspension should only cover Filipino household service workers who are usually the victims of workplace abuses in another country.

The group made the statement after DOLE issued the order last Friday, ordering the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration to temporarily suspend the processing of the Overseas Employment Certificates for OFWs heading to Kuwait for work.

Labor secretary Sylvester H. Bello III said that the order will remain in place until the investigation into the cause of deaths of the seven OFWs in Kuwait has been completed. These seven OFWs are Liezl Truz Hukdong, Vanessa Karissha L. Esguerra, Marie Fe Saliling Librada, Arlene Castillo Manzano, Devine Riche Encarnacion, Patrick Sunga and Mira Luna Juntilla.

Before the issuance of the Administrative Order, President Duterte already said that the government is considering the deployment ban to Kuwait, mentioning the death of the four OFWs due to alleged abuse.

Based on the latest statistics, there are 109,615 land-based OFWs deployed in Kuwait last 2016. More than half of them are newly hired household service workers.