THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR and Employment (DOLE) said it wants overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Kuwait to be allowed to keep their passports and have regular access to their mobile devices.
Labor Undersecretary Claro Arellano said these provisions are included in the proposed memorandum of understanding (MOU) being pushed by the DOLE with the Kuwaiti government to ensure the safety and welfare of Filipino workers in the host country.
“We want them to allow our OFWs in Kuwait to hold their passport. Or at least, if they will not be allowed to hold their passports, they be deposited to our Philippine Labor Attaché in coordination with the Philippines Embassy,” Arellano said. “We want them to allow our OFWs to use their cellphones to communicate with their families and the government.”
Labor officials are set to go to Kuwait to discuss the MOU with their counterparts. “Hopefully we can already finalize this memorandum of agreement and, by second week of March, we can already have the signing between the Kuwaiti government and the Philippine government,” Arellano said.
For his part, Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) Administrator Bernard Olalia noted that OFWs should be in possession of their passports. “The passport is owned by the Philippine government so it cannot be confiscated by anybody. Our OFWs should have the prerogative to keep the passport or the government of the Philippines,” he explained.
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said such policies may even be adopted in other countries where there are OFWs. “It should be applicable to all for the protection of workers,” he said. There were nearly 200 OFW deaths in Kuwait in recent years with the latest fatality, Joanna Demafelis, who was tortured and murdered by her Libyan and Syrian employers. (Ferdinand Patinio)
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