Ban on Filipino domestic workers recruitment not notified officially to Kuwait

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PAM addresses MoFA on ways to resolve issue

KUWAIT CITY, Jan 9: Deputy Director General for Manpower Protection at Public Authority for Manpower (PAM) Dr Mubarak Al-Azmi affirmed that the authority was yet to be notified officially by the government of the Philippines over its decision to ban sending domestic workers to Kuwait, revealing that PAM has addressed Ministry of Foreign Affairs on ways to resolve the issue.

In a recent press conference held inside its premises in presence of the directors and with the aim of shedding light on the achievements of PAM, Dr Al-Azmi explained that the authority carried out an administrative investigation on the death of the Filipina domestic worker.

It discovered that the deceased was employed by a Kuwaiti family. She had a salary issue with the family, and had reported it to the Philippines Labor Agency, which in return contacted the domestic labor office and settled the issue without informing the authority. The salary problem occurred again but the authority was not intimated.

Affirmed
He affirmed that PAM usually maintains contact with embassies and concerned authorities regarding the rights of workers. Dr Al-Azmi indicated that the authority cannot rule out the crime completely, but it has been doing very well in managing such crises brought to its notice, affirming that Kuwait’s file is very clean in that regard.

He hinted that the government policy now is to open door for the recruitment of domestic workers from many countries such as Nepal, Ethiopia, India and Indonesia, so that it will not be limited to one or two countries.

Dr Al-Azmi revealed that the government of Ethiopia will send a delegation to Kuwait by end of this month to discuss the possibility of recruiting domestic workers from there. He said the protocol for recruiting domestic workers from the Philippines has been drafted in cooperation with Ministry of Foreign Affairs, so it is expected to regulate some pending issues in collaboration with Ministry of Interior.

Dr Al-Azmi disclosed that 184 inspectors are monitoring the activities of 1.6 million workers in the sector, adding that there is a plan to increase the number of staff with 210 others to support the existing number.

Meanwhile, the Chairperson of the Joint Committee for Restructuring Expatriate Labor Force Mohammed Al-Dhafiri explained that the total number of individuals arrested by the joint committee at an unspecified work location was 6,250 in the past year.

They included 6,177 hawkers, 50 vendors and 23 beggars. There also were 3,000 individuals who were registered as domestic workers. Their files have been suspended, and coordination is in place to prevent guarantees for domestic labor applicants. There will also be legal repercussions for such practices.

In addition, Director of the Department for Recruitment of Domestic Workers Nasser Al- Mousawi affirmed that the total number of domestic workers registered with PAM reached 730 thousand, and the total number of registered recruitment agencies are 473.

He said the total number of complaints resolved amicably between the parties was 2,805, while 704 complaints were referred to the judiciary, adding that the amount collected for the sponsors amounted to one million and 560 thousand dinars.

By Fares Al-Abadan Al-Seyassah Staff

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