(Eagle News) – President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday has finalized the country’s demands for the protection of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Kuwait.
The President said he wanted the bilateral deal that Philippines and Kuwait will sign to be a “government-to-government“ contract.
The Chief Executive also demanded that the agreement should include some mandatory provisions like allowing OFWs to sleep at least seven hours a day and that they should “be fed with nutritious food.”
“We will not allow leftovers to be eaten by our countrymen. Palutuin sila ng kanila,” he said in his speech during the graduation rites of Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) ‘Maragtas’ Class of 2018 in Silang, Cavite on March 21.
Duterte added that he would no longer allow the practice of Kuwaiti employers to confiscate the passports of Filipino domestic helpers and that OFWs should also be allowed to enjoy holidays.
Labor officials from both countries have come up with a memorandum of agreement (MOU) draft for OFW protection on Friday, March 16, after a two-day negotiation in Manila.
According to Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III, the draft included major provisions such as the ban on the surrender of Filipino passports to Kuwaiti employers, the binding effect of the Philippine-crafted employment contract, the guaranteed payment of a minimum monthly net pay of $400 paid through the bank, and the non-confiscation of mobile phones and other communication gadgets.
The MOU also stipulated that an OFW must give a written consent approved by the labor attaché before he or she is transferred to another employer.
Secretary Bello is slated to bring the final draft to Kuwait for signing in the first week of April.
President Duterte said he did not mean to offend anyone with his demands, he only wanted OFWs to be treated fairly.
“Eh nagmamadali sila. I do not mean to offend…all for employing Filipinos abroad. I have said that we are not slaves, maybe our only fault would be, (we are) in your country because mahirap lang kami,” he said.
The President has ordered a total ban on the deployment of workers to the Arab state following reports of rampant abuses and the death of Joana Demafelis, who was found stuck in a freezer in an abandoned apartment in Kuwait early February.
In another speech before his supporters, the President said he would not order the lifting of the deployment ban if Kuwait would not agree to his conditions.
