$10,000 deposit for hiring domestic workers

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 $10,000 deposit for hiring domestic workers

Kuwait - In February, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte imposed a partial ban on workers travelling to Kuwait.

By Web Report

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Published: Mon 23 Jul 2018, 12:24 PM

Last updated: Mon 23 Jul 2018, 2:25 PM

The domestic worker recruitment agencies in Kuwait will now need to deposit $10,000 in insurance to any local bank in the Philippines.
"We are trying our best to lower the cost of hiring domestic helpers, which is now KD990. Even this amount is not a regulation from the Philippine government - it is demanded by local recruitment agencies," Ma Teresa Olgado, Assistant Labour Attache to Kuwait said.
"We are in serious discussions with the authorities and recruitment agencies here to lower the cost from KD990 because we believe abuses are connected to high costs as well. Employers won't easily give passports and days off in fear that the helper could run away," she told Kuwait Times.
Kuwait and the Philippines signed a deal in May to regulate domestic workers after a dispute between the two countries led to a ban on Filipino workers in the Gulf state.
In February, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte imposed a partial ban on workers travelling to Kuwait after a Filipina maid was murdered and her body found in a freezer.
The crisis deepened after Kuwaiti authorities in April expelled Manila's ambassador over video footage of Philippine embassy staff helping workers escape employers accused of mistreatment.
According to Olgado, "The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration's rules state that upon application for accreditation by foreign recruitment agencies, they will be required to set up and maintain an escrow account with a bank authorised by the Philippine Central Bank with a minimum deposit of $10,000."
"This is to protect the interests of our workers and provide better protection, especially to household service workers, but is not required for each and every Filipino hired. The escrow deposit will primarily be for the settlement of all valid and legal claims and satisfaction of all judgment awards arising from violation of contracts of employment," she adds.


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