Suspension of OFW deployment an ‘unjustifiable fuss,’ says Kuwaiti official


Saying Filipino workers in Kuwait are cared for by their employers, a Kuwaiti official has described the Philippine government's decision to suspend the deployment of OFWs there as an "unjustifiable fuss."
"The Filipino workers enjoy comfortable conditions that guarantee their rights regardless of the recent unjustifiable fuss," said Kuwaiti Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Al-Jarallah, as reported by Kuwait News Agency.
He said the expatriate community of Kuwait can testify to the "care and stability" enjoyed by foreign workers there.
The Philippine government suspended the deployment of newly hired Filipino workers to Kuwait amid cases of abuses and pending the investigation on the deaths of seven workers.
President Rodrigo Duterte has warned that he may ban OFW deployment to Kuwait and other Middle Eastern countries if Filipino workers continue to experience abuse at the hands of their employers.
Al-Jarallah, who said the overall status of OFWs in Kuwait cannot be assessed based on individual cases, said Filipino authorities failed to furnish their office of evidence of any abuse cases when asked.
He said Kuwait's current labor law is modern when asked if there was a need to amend it, and denied any tendency to suspend the residency of OFWs.
Al-Jarallah said Kuwait addressed migrant issues in "a candid and transparent way that preserves their rights," noting that the country's human rights record was praised in the past.
The Human Rights Watch reported that Kuwait improved migrant worker rights in 2016 by "enacting minimum wage for domestic workers, easing employer transfer rules, and passing implementing regulations for a 2015 law that gave domestic workers enforceable rights for the first time."
Migrant workers, however, were noted to remain vulnerable to abuse, forced labor, and "deportation for minor infractions including traffic violations and "absconding" from an employer."
The UN special rapporteur on trafficking encouraged Kuwait to abolish its "kafala" or sponsorship system in addition to continuing reforms especially to its weak domestic workers law. —Rie Takumi/KBK, GMA News

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