Is this not a clear case of interference in a purely
internal matter?
Last month the President started to sound the alarm
regarding the abuses done by Kuwaiti nationals as against Filipinos working in
the gulf state. The tipping point was the report that happened to domestic
worker Joanna Demafelis whose body was found inside a freezer in an abandoned
apartment in Kuwait. The last time she was seen alive was in September of 2016.
The President decided to have a total ban on deployment of our Overseas
Filipino Workers to Kuwait.
In response Kuwait's Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh
Sabah al-Khalid al-Sabah slammed the Philippine President stating that the call
to evacuate all Filipinos workers (mostly domestic workers) from the gulf state could damage ties between
the two countries.
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| HRW calls for PH and Kuwait to fix gaps to prevent OFW abuses (photo credit to owner) |
"We are surprised and we condemn statements from the
Philippine president, especially as we are in contact with the Philippines on a
high level to explain the workers' conditions in Kuwait," said the Kuwaiti
official.
"Escalation does not serve
the ties between Kuwait and the Philippines," Sheikh Sabah said, adding
that 170,000 Filipinos "live a decent life in Kuwait ... but separate
accidents unfortunately happen, and we are providing our Filipino counterparts
with the results of the investigations."
“Of course,
there are individual accidents that happen; however, we collaborate in the
investigations with the Filipino authorities. So we are in direct
communication,” the Kuwaiti foreign minister said.
Human Rights
Watch weighs in
Human Rights
Watch gave an unsolicited advice to the Duterte government that instead of imposing
a total ban on employment on new workers bound to Kuwait, the country should
work with the Gulf nation in trying to agree on new reforms that would protect
the Filipino migrant workers.
HRW also
reiterated that the imposition of a total ban on employment might result to
unregulated entry of Filipino migrant workers into Kuwait.
“The Philippines should work with Kuwait to protect
workers rather than ban them from migrating, which is more likely to cause harm
than to help,” HRW Middle East researcher Rothna Begum said. *
HRW pointed that the two countries
should agree on a bilateral agreement which includes a standard contract, a
system for rescuing workers in distress and investigating abuses and deaths and
a requirement to inform the Philippines of any national arrested.
A requirement for employers who apply for work and
residency permits for domestic workers to apply for authorization from the
Philippine embassy must be also included in the agreement, HRW added.
“While bilateral agreements have many limitations,
they can be helpful when there is an agreed upon mutually enforceable
employment contract that provides real protections, and effective complaint systems
and investigation procedures,” Begum said.
HRW also suggested that the Philippine government
should improve its monitoring of recruitment agencies to prevent them from
deceiving workers.
“Both Kuwait and the Philippines have an opportunity
to work together to increase protections for domestic workers and fix the gaps
that are leaving workers vulnerable to extreme abuse,” Begum said.
On the Kuwait side, HRW slammed the “kafala”
system or the sponsorship system in the Middle East region , which forces
workers to remain with abusive employers and punish those who try to
escape.
Under the "kafala" systems, migrant workers who flee their
employers can be arrested and fined, imprisoned for up to six months, deported
and barred from returning for at least six (6) years. *
“The Kuwaiti government should fight the root cause of
abuse of domestic workers—such as the ‘kafala’ system—before looking to recruit
workers from other countries,” Begum said.
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