First PH - Kuwait Joint Committee Meeting Discusses Standard Contract for Domestic Workers
Philippine Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Undersecretary Claro Arellano (center) and Kuwaiti Assistant Foreign Minister for Consular Affairs Sami Al-Hamad (second from right) sign the Minutes of the Meeting at the conclusion of the First Joint Committee Meeting (JCM) on the 2018 Philippines-Kuwait Agreement on the Deployment of Domestic Workers. (Kuwait PE photo)
KUWAIT 11 February 2020 – The Philippines and Kuwait are one step closer towards the harmonization of employment contracts for domestic workers, following the convening of the First Joint Committee Meeting (JCM) on the 2018 Philippines-Kuwait Agreement on the Deployment of Domestic Workers on 02-03 February 2020 in Kuwait.
Labor Undersecretary and Head of the Philippine Delegation Claro Arellano, and Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) Administrator Bernard Olalia signed the minutes of the two-day JCM on 03 February 2020.
Meanwhile, Kuwaiti Assistant Foreign Minister for Consular Affairs Sami Al-Hamad, and Public Authority for Manpower (PAM) Deputy Director General for the Employment Sector Abdullah Saleh Al-Mutawah led Kuwait’s delegation to the JCM.
Several protection measures for Filipino domestic workers were tackled during the JCM, which the Philippines and Kuwait intend to institutionalize through a standard employment contract. Among the provisions that were discussed for inclusion in the standard employment contract are the use of mobile phones outside working hours, the non-confiscation of passports, welfare provisions such as food and clothing, and medical care coverage.
A Joint Committee, led by senior Philippine and Kuwaiti officials, was created by the 2018 Domestic Workers Agreement to follow up the implementation of the agreement between the two countries, and make recommendations to improve the welfare and well-being of Filipino domestic workers in Kuwait.
The convening of the first JCM between the Philippines and Kuwait also coincided with the visit to Kuwait of DOLE Secretary Silvestre Bello III from 01 to 03 February 2020. END
Philippine Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Undersecretary Claro Arellano (seventh from left) and Kuwaiti Assistant Foreign Minister for Consular Affairs Sami Al-Hamad (eighth from left) with the rest of the Philippine and Kuwait delegation during the meeting. (Kuwait PE photo)
Philippines and Kuwait convene the First Joint Committee Meeting (JCM) on the 2018 Philippines-Kuwait Agreement on the Deployment of Domestic Workers. (Kuwait PE photo)
For more information, visit https://www.kuwaitpe.dfa.gov.ph, https://www.philembassykuwait.gov.kw or https://www.facebook.com/PHinKuwait/ or https://twitter.com/PHinKuwait.