BY DANIE MAE FAJARDO-DELA CRUZ
MANILA – The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) met with private recruitment agencies with job orders for Kuwait and elsewhere and discussed joint efforts to help their workers look for either foreign or local employment.
There will be job-matching efforts and a financial package for those whose dreams of working in Kuwait have been put on hold, said Secretary Susan Ople.
Kuwait suspended visa issuances for newly hired Filipino workers.
Ople assured the public that the governments of the Philippines and Kuwait are finding the best way to address current concerns.
“We are optimistic that all these issues raised by both parties in the talks will be resolved in due time,” said Ople.
Due to the visa suspension, the travel to Kuwait of 815 overseas workers has been deferred.
For each OEC-holder who had already spent money in applying for Kuwait and had fulfilled all the requirements as an overseas Filipino worker, Ople said DMW is preparing a financial aid package of P30,000.
OEC is the Overseas Employment Certificate. This document is issued by the DMW as proof that a worker went through the legal process in applying for a job overseas.
At least 515 of the 815 directly affected OFWs belong to the domestic workers’ category while the rest are mostly in the service sector, to be employed as waiters and waitresses, mall vendors, sales associates with a few to be working in Kuwait as nurses.
To respond to queries and concerns related to job opportunities in Kuwait and the assistance being offered to affected workers, DMW created a dedicated e-mail – ofwkuwait@dmw.gov.ph.
There are around 270,000 OFWs in Kuwait. Out of that number, 196,000 continue to work in various households as domestic workers, data from DMW showed./PN
