The Philippines’ Department of Labor and Employment has suspended the deployment of Filipino workers to Kuwait amid cases of abuse – and multiple deaths.
On January 19, Labor secretary Sylvester Bello III ordered the suspension of the issuing of overseas employment certificates pending an investigation into the death of seven Filipino workers in Kuwait, GMA News reported.
The department noted that Filipino workers who already have overseas employment certificates and plane tickets to Kuwait can still proceed to the country despite the suspension, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported.
“Once all the Overseas Filipino workers with employment certificates have been deployed, there will be no more deployment to Kuwait,” a spokesperson from the department said.
On Sunday, Kuwait’s Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Sulaiman Al-Jarallah met with Philippine Ambassador Renato Pedro Villa to discuss the suspension.
Al-Jarallah and Villa agreed to follow up on the problems of Filipino workers in the country and seek a lifting of the ban. Villa pledged to recommend to the Philippine government to end the ban soon, Arab Times reported.
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