Philippines wants 'pragmatic' measures before lifting Kuwait deployment ban


Patricia Lourdes Viray (philstar.com) - March 12, 2018 - 12:37pm
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine government is hoping for more pragmatic measures before lifting the deployment ban to the Gulf state.
 
"As we move forward in the negotiations, we hope to incorporate more practical measures that would better protect our kababayans working there from exploitation and abuse," Cayetano said.
 
The Philippines' negotiating panel has secured a commitment from Kuwait that would guarantee a minimum monthly salary of KD120 for Filipino workers.
 
The negotiating panel, led by Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III and Philippine Ambassador to Kuwait Renato Villa, were able to convince their counterparts to agree with the conditions of President Rodrigo Duterte.
 
The Kuwaiti government also agreed to allow Filipino workers to have at least eight hours of rest per day, possession of passports and mobile phones and limited their work to only one household.
 
"Our negotiations with Kuwait have so far been going well but we need to put in place more practical measures that would ensure the safety and welfare of our kababayans working there," Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said.
 
Cayetano suggested that the payment of salaries be directed to the bank account of Filipino workers if feasible to ensure that they would not get shortchanged and that they would receive the salary they agreed to.
 
The Philippines' top diplomat would also like to see an agreement that would pave for a mechanism where Filipinos can file their complaints directly to Kuwaiti authorities.
 
There were instances where employers preempted cases against them by filing false charges against Filipino employees, he said.
 
"We really must work with Kuwait to make sure we come up with an implementable agreement that would contain guarantees for the protection of our workers," Cayetano said.
 
The DFA and the DOLE will meet to further discuss issues and reforms to be included in a new labor agreement with Kuwait.
 
Duterte had ordered the total ban on the deployment of workers to Kuwait following reports of abuse against Filipino workers in the Middle Eastern country.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more