Philippines and Kuwaiti officials are finalizing a bilateral agreement that they hope will lift a current ban on Filipino domestic workers in the Gulf state.
According to Filipino Labor Undersecretary Claro Arellano, the agreement will provide for specific provisions that they say will help protect their nationals in Kuwait.
The following conditions are expected to be part of the agreement:
- Salaries of no less than 120 Kuwaiti dinars or $400 dollars.
- Paying salaries regularly via direct deposits to bank accounts.
- At least eight hours of rest per day.
- Allowing workers to keep their phones and passports.
- Limiting domestic workers to be employed in only one house only.
The current ban was instated by the Philippines government of Rodrigo Duterte after the body of a Filipina maid was discovered in a freezer in a Kuwait apartment. Duterte then arranged free flights for workers wishing to leave - an evacuation that Kuwait said was an unnecessary escalation of a diplomatic rift.