KUWAIT: Philippine Labor Attache Cesar Chavez (left) speaks to Kuwait Times yesterday, in presence of Philippine Ambassador to Kuwait Renato Pedro Villa

KUWAIT: There is no discrimination with regards to employing Filipino domestic helpers by expats, Philippine Ambassador to Kuwait Renato Pedro Villa told reporters yesterday, but he added the rules have been tightened to prevent human trafficking. The envoy was responding after Kuwait Times and a local Arabic daily reported that expats could be barred from hiring Filipino domestic helpers. Kuwait Times reported in February that recruitment agencies were refusing to hire out Filipino staff to expatriates living in Kuwait. Several agencies told Kuwait Times that they had been advised by the Philippines Embassy of this, though some agencies disregarded the policy.

"No, that is incorrect," Ambassador Villa said. "The embassy was taken out of context. We don't discriminate against anyone or any nationality. We see to it that the employers of our household service workers are in good hands and that the employers are capable of paying the salaries of the workers and paying compensation in the event of a transfer. Recently, we found evidence of human trafficking because many employers take our housemaids to other countries for long periods," he explained. Villa specifically noted that "expats are taking our maids to their [home] countries without the knowledge of the Philippine Embassy, so a new regulation was necessary".

New Rules

Philippine Labor Attache Cesar Chavez explained the new policy. "What was published in the newspapers is not true. It was taken out of context. What we want to do is strictly enforce the existing policy of the embassy. If employers decide to take Filipino domestic helpers overseas, we have to issue an undertaking that they will bring to the airport to show to immigration officers," Chavez explained.

The undertaking, according to Chavez, will be signed by the sponsor and will include a letter of consent from the worker and a letter of request by the employer addressed to the embassy. "This way, it is of mutual benefits to both parties - the workers and employers. The workers are protected from being trafficked and taken outside Kuwait, and will be suitably compensated. For example, if the employer decides to take the housemaid to Britain, she must be compensated according to the salary rates in that particular country - likewise for the US. This fact will be added in the amended contracts. If workers abscond in the countries where the sponsors take them, employers can ask the embassy to help them," he said.

"We want to make sure that employers who are hiring Filipina domestic help are capable of paying the workers. Our benchmark is that employers should have a combined income of not less than KD 1,000, so they can pay their workers - this applies to Kuwaiti employers and expats. We are not restricting the rights of the employers to hire domestic helpers, but we are documenting and protecting the rights of not just the workers but the employers too, to avoid workers being trapped in human trafficking," Chavez said.

Letter of approval

The embassy has advised other embassies here to accept only those workers who will accompany their employers who have a prior letter of approval from the Philippine embassy. "An employer wanted to take a domestic Filipina worker to Germany, but the German Embassy asked the employer to get an approval letter from our post," he said.

"We started this program a few months back, but from April 1, we will be releasing templates of the one-page undertaking document, saying whenever the employers take workers out of Kuwait, we want them to come to the embassy and submit the letter of request and the letter of consent from the workers willing to accompany their employers. If there should be amendments of contracts, we will do it if necessary," Chavez added.

The contract approved by the Kuwaiti government says that the place of work should be Kuwait only if workers are employed in Kuwait, and employers cannot take their workers outside Kuwait, so the undertaking and letters are necessary. "They have to get the approval of the workers, the Philippine Embassy and the Kuwait government in order to allow them to take workers outside Kuwait. Nowadays, the immigration department is requiring employers to show documents from the embassy and where they will take the workers from Kuwait," he said.

400 runaways

The Philippine Embassy has about 400 runaway household service workers divided in two shelters. "What is alarming is the fact that many of our runaway workers have petty salary problems - some ran away from employers after only two months of non-payment of salaries, or after minor quarrels with employers or co-workers. We try to negotiate, fix the problem and reconcile," Chavez noted.

Chavez said around 2,500 Filipinos arrive in Kuwait monthly, and domestic helpers account about 60 percent of the 200,000 Filipino workers in the country. There are an estimated 660,000 domestic helpers in Kuwait, and a vast majority is brought in by recruitment agencies, which charge fees between KD 500 to KD 1,500. Local recruitment agencies charge the highest for Filipino domestic helpers.

By Ben Garcia