The Philippines and Kuwait signed an agreement for an employment contract, which aims to strengthen the protection of Filipino household service workers from abuse.
Labor Undersecretary Claro Arellano and Kuwait Assistant Foreign Minister for Consular Affairs Sami Al-Hamad led the signing of the minutes of a joint committee meeting for the Harmonized Standard Employment Contract of Filipino household service workers.
A technical working group, led by Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III, arrived in Kuwait last week to convene with representatives of the Kuwait government on the protection of household service workers.
The contract includes rules relating to the protection of household service workers on their passports, their use of cell phones, and their transfer to other employers without the permission of the Philippine labor attaché, Arellano said.
Aside from the contract, Bello also said that Kuwaiti officials had promised him justice for the killing of Pinoy worker Jeanelyn Villavende.
Philippines, Kuwait agree on employment contract for Pinoy household workers
“I think we achieved what we came here for,” said Bello.
The Philippines re-enacted last month a total ban on sending Filipino workers to Kuwait following the killing of Villavende, which has been blamed on its Kuwaiti employers.
Aside from the beating, an autopsy report by the National Bureau of Investigation found that Villavende was also a victim of sexual abuse.
In 2018, the Philippines issued its deployment ban on Kuwait following a series of reports of abuse by OFWs there, including the case of Joanna Demafelis, who was found dead inside the freezer.
The ban was only lifted when the Philippines and Kuwait signed an agreement for the protection of OFWs.
Bello left Monday afternoon with 68 distressed overseas Filipino workers. Most of them are not fed and appropriately paid and are victims of sexual, physical, or verbal abuse.
To date, the deployment ban remains in Kuwait.