Request to deploy competent and experienced officials with capacity to handle crisis and appropriate diplomacy
Ricky Laxa
Staff Writer
Representatives from different foreign recruitment agencies in Kuwait gathered Friday afternoon to air their complaints and suggestions to the Philippine government on the issues of the deployment ban of Filipino workers in Kuwait recently implemented by the government due to Philippines’ alleged non-compliance with the labor agreement between the two countries. A call to the Philippine government to send and deploy competent officials to find solutions the recurring crisis in Kuwait caps the discussion.
In a three-hour meeting held among twenty representatives of foreign recruitment agencies in Kuwait discussed several grievances on the issues of deployment of ban of domestic, skilled, and semi-skilled workers and alleged offensive policies of Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and Migrant Workers Office (MWO) without considerations on their welfare and protection as well as questions to several policies being applied without appropriate consultations. An agency official stated that among one of the several issues include purchase of tickets for repatriation of workers. Agency representative questions “Why are we being asked to purchase tickets through their department which are costly while we can find a more affordable airline fare? In most cases the department boasts on purchasing the travel fares of these workers, which in fact the foreign recruitment agencies were responsible. Another foreign recruitment representative expressed her complaint as to how officials of OWWA’s insolent and unskillful approach dealing with sponsors who prefer to go to their office and discuss cases of their workers. Most of the time they get yelled at and refused to somehow express their opinions leaving the place offended.
In one of the most serious cases discussed was the unfair treatment of foreign agencies representatives in relation to domestic workers cases. “We will never deny help to our deployed workers, we take responsibility of every single case with knowledge that we deploy them, so we need to take care of them. Where does the departments’ role apply then? When they surface and complain about their employers and refusal to work? The department somehow act as a “call center” where workers may lodge their complaints against us (foreign recruitment agencies) for not listening to them, where in fact monitoring system is being applied”.
Several workers who refuse to work once confronted with misunderstandings between employers commence their complaints either published in social media or among chatlines of agencies, amidst agencies efforts to resolve cases, they end up being complained in the concerned departments. “We are left without a choice. What about us then? Among one of the prominent complaints by a worker after two hours of being deployed to her employer’s home refused to work due to weather conditions, she said weather was too hot.
Philippine government has never taken into considerations our commitment too with the employers that by implementing the ban on domestic workers we take the direct hit from these sponsors, and it even escalated when Kuwait imposed the ban on the skilled and non-skilled workers affecting thousands of hopeful workers bound to the country. Philippine Star published that MWD mentioned that 47,000 OFW were affected with the ban. “It should not happen on the first place, and this could have been resolved had Philippine government did not forge ahead with the ban and consider its negative effects not only to the inbound workers but to those who are now in Kuwait who now are anxious about their own situations.
“Were our rights denied by the justice system of Kuwait? Did their action take long to apprehend the suspects to the crimes? Did they not work closely with the Embassy, OWWA and MWO to resolve crisis in the past? All these have taken into effect almost instantly” “Why then impose a ban on 47,000 incoming domestic workers in 2023 where in fact could have given these workers the chance to start promising better future for their families?” Representatives call these cases “isolated” that even Kuwait condemns as heinous crimes. Deployment ban is not the solution to these problems in fact, it strips both countries the chance to discuss further or implement with immediate effect resolutions and better agreements. “Philippines should not only look at the welfare and safety of its workers but must consider the employers’ rights and the vital role of the foreign recruitment agencies as link between all parties. Instead of being denied of our voice and treated as conduit to the crimes, for once the departments must consider the importance of our role as foreign recruitment agencies” added agency representative.
Finally, some representatives of agencies called upon the Philippine government to send officials with background of the Middle East labor situations. “The Filipino community needs Muslim officials who understand the sentiments of both countries and can communicate with the host government effectively, Philippine government should take this concern seriously” added a representative. In addition, they urged Philippine government officials to stop blabber mouthing on social media and news the issues yet know nothing of the actual situations but based their opinions on unreliable reports. “These officials desperate bid to be noticed by the public take these issues as platforms to augment their popularity without taking into considerations the damage it can cause between both countries. Out of nowhere they surface and rage on the issues yet once it escalates, they vanish” added representative.
Several representatives refuse to comment on the issue but preferred to listen and share own part of their stories, this is for fear of being singled out by the departments concerned as such incidences occurred in the past. Philippine delegations have arrived in Kuwait today to commence the dialogue between both countries and hopefully resolve the concerns. Filipinos working in Kuwait somehow are hopeful that positive results will transpire from these dialogues.
Read Today's News TODAY... on our Telegram Channel click here to join and receive all the latest updates t.me/thetimeskuwait
