PHILIPPINES PLANS TO BAN DH IN KUWAIT

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NEW MEDICAL GUIDELINES FOR OFWS BOUND TO KUWAIT

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The Philippines, plans to ban DH in Kuwait





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AUGUST JOBS FOR FILIPINOS TO KUWAIT NO JOBS FOR HOUSEHOLD SERVICE WORKER

MANILA, Philippines - Philippines is planning to impose a ban on its citizens from working as housemaids and domestic helper in Kuwait due to the rising cases of mistreatment and abuse of household service workers (HSW) by Kuwaiti employers.

According to reports, there are five to 10 (HSW) escapes daily from their employer in Kuwait because of abuse or maltreatment.

Cases of abuse range from non-payment of wages, maltreatment to rape and the most common complaints of the workers were ill-treatment and overworked.

Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) said, they will suspend the permits of the recruitment agency who will not help the repatriation of abused workers they recruit to work in the said country.

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Currently, there are 500 distress OFW seeking refuge in Philippine Embassy o POLO - OWWA Shelters in Kuwait.

Ambassador Renato Pedro Villa of Philippine Embassy in Kuwait said he is in favor of proposed temporary suspension of the deployment of domestic helpers in the said Arab Country.

This will give way to investigate pending cases of abuse of household services workers in Kuwait and to start anew the deployment under Domestic Workers Law.

Some OFW groups support the plan while some recruitment agency opposes to this.

The government will also send a composite team to Kuwait to fast track the repatriation of abused workers.

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©2016 THOUGHTSKOTO

Kuwait Sets Labor Law For Rights And Protection of Domestic Workers

Recruiters of household employees in Kuwait are facing problems when their recruit end up in neighboring countries like Saudi, Egypt, Lebanon and other gulf countries. These problems usually arise with expatriate employers who were taking their household employees outside Kuwait without informing the agency. 

In order to prevent further problems with household service workers, the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait has set a rule preventing expatriates from hiring Filipino domestic workers, or for non-Kuwaiti employers to get an approval first from the embassy. 

There is an estimated 660,000 household workers in Kuwait. Recruiting firms would usually charge fees of between KD 400 to KD 1,500 to hire a domestic worker for up to two years. The charges are typically determined by the nationality of the domestic worker with agencies charging the highest fees for Filipino domestic workers.

 According to another concerned employer, there are also some who would hire domestic worker and force them to work for another family in exchange for money. 

Last year, the parliament adopted its first ever domestic workers labor law, regulating the thriving industry.Under the new labor law, domestic workers are granted the right to

a weekly day off, 

30 days of annual paid leave, 

12-hour working day with rest, 

and an end-of-service benefit of one month a year at the end of the contract, among other rights. Kuwait is the first in the Arab Gulf states to pass such a law.

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©2016 THOUGHTSKOTO

OFW KASAMBAHAY BASED IN HONGKONG CAUGHT STEALING EMPLOYERS LUXURY ITEMS WORTH P300,000

This report was posted in South China Morning Post.  

A domestic helper employed by the boss of major cosmetics chain Sasa was sentenced to two months in jail yesterday for stealing 61 luxury items worth more than HK$50,000. (around P300,000)

Irene Canonneo Gomera, a 34-year-old Filipino, pleaded guilty to theft charge at Kowloon City magistracy.

The charge said Gomera stole a range of items owned by Eleanor Kwok Law Kwai-chun at her residence on Island Road, near Repulse Bay, earlier this month.

The 61 items included a black Prada backpack, an orange Paul Smith handbag, a brown Gucci handbag, two pairs of shorts, six shirts, 12 pairs of socks, three bras and a box of hair wax.

It was Kwok herself who caught the helper stealing when she checked Gomera’s room with her secretary. The helper then admitted to police that she had stolen the items.

Kwok sacked Gomera immediately and all the items were returned.

Pleading for a lenient sentence, Gomera’s lawyer told the court that the helper, who had no previous convictions, was her family’s main breadwinner and she had a son and daughter.

The defendant was unmarried and her boyfriend had “suddenly disappeared”, the court was told. Kwok was the defendant’s first employer in Hong Kong, the lawyer added, and Gomera committed the crime out of greed.

It was the first time she had come into contact with such luxurious items and she did not intend to resell or pawn them.

The couple who owns Sasa Cosmetics

The lawyer added that it was unlikely the defendant would commit such a crime again since she could hardly get a job again in Hong Kong.

©2016 THOUGHTSKOTO