Fewer Filipino household workers for Kuwait seen

MANILA, Philippines — Local recruiters see fewer hiring of Filipino household workers in Kuwait with the imposition of stricter regulations governing deployment to the Arab country.

Recruitment consultant Manny Geslani over the weekend said agency owners are worried that new regulations may discourage Kuwaiti employers from hiring Filipino household service workers (HSWs).

Among other requirements, Geslani said, agencies deploying HSWs to Kuwait are now mandated to deposit a minimum $10,000 to as high as $50,000.  

Under the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) rules, all foreign placement agencies (FPA) requesting for accreditation with a Philippine Recruitment Agency (PRA) must comply with the escrow requirement. 

If the FPA is accredited or to be accredited to more than one PRA, it needs to put up only one escrow deposit. 

POEA said the escrow deposit would answer for all valid and legal claims arising from the violation of the employment contracts of agencies as well as for the awards to the workers.

An FPA with pending Disciplinary Action against Employer (DAE) during the renewal of its accreditation shall be required to put up an additional escrow deposit not exceeding $50,000.

The POEA issued the new guidelines following the ban on deployment of Filipino workers to Kuwait in the aftermath of the murder of Joanna Demafelis whose body was found stuffed in a freezer in an abandoned apartment.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) eventually lifted the deployment ban after signing with the Kuwaiti government a memorandum of agreement providing additional protection for HSWs to be employed there.  

Geslani however said no Filipino domestic worker was able to leave the country despite the lifting of the deployment last May.

“There is zero deployment of domestic workers to Kuwait since lifting of the ban two and half months ago stranding thousands of applicants ready to depart and just waiting for travel documents from the POEA,” Geslani said. – With Rudy Santos