KUWAIT CITY, June 19: According to a specialist in domestic labor affairs Bassam Al-Shammari, the meeting between the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Minister of Interior Sheikh Fahad Yousuf Al-Sabah and the Philippine Congressman and Chairman of Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs Ron P. Salo contributed to settling part of the Kuwait-Philippines domestic labor dispute, reports Aljarida daily. Al-Shammari explained that an official delegation from the Philippines will soon visit Kuwait to hold discussions with relevant Kuwaiti institutions regarding the cancellation of the ban and the resumption of export of domestic labor from the Philippines. If the ban is lifted, domestic labor offices are prepared to travel to Manila to finalize job orders.

Kuwait’s labor market is experiencing a shortage of Filipino domestic workers, who are highly preferred for their convenience, education, and familiarity with Kuwaiti customs. Currently, there are 200,000 Filipino domestic workers, constituting 50 percent of the total domestic labor force. Al-Shammari anticipated that the upcoming meetings would cover several issues, such as the management of shelters operated by the Philippines Embassy in Kuwait, expediting the resolution of labor disputes to ensure workers receive their entitlements like indemnities and timely salaries, safeguarding their documents including civil identity cards and passports, and improving the shelters for domestic workers managed by the Public Authority of Manpower (PAM). He revealed that the delegation from the Philippines that visited Kuwait in response to the recent fire incident in Mangaf also visited the shelter center operated by PAM where laborers reside until their issues are resolved, adding that they made sure the residents are receiving appropriate care