Officials of the Department of Migrant Workers (DWM) met with owners and managers of recruitment agencies and discussed safety measures in deploying overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to Kuwait and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Patricia Yvonne Caunan, DMW Undersecretary for Policy and International Cooperation, said the Philippine recruitment agencies were asked to provide their inputs on how the government could still further step up the protective measures for the OFWs amid cases of abuses on migrant workers. 

“Our goal in policy making is not just for the sake of doing policy, but to actually protect our people and save lives. The overall value that we have is to give importance to the OFWs, who should be the center of everything that we do,” Caunan said.

Among the issues and concerns that arose from the discussions were the challenges in the monitoring of the workers onsite, the terms and conditions specified in the employment contracts, and the compliance of the recruitment agencies and their foreign counterparts.

During the dialogue, the recruitment agencies suggested including specific terms and job descriptions in the employment contract and shortening the workers’ duration of employment from two years to one year.

The DMW, for its part, urged the PRAs to be vigilant in the monitoring of the status and conditions of their deployed workers and to be responsive enough in case of any urgent concerns or emergencies. 

They were also reminded to always ensure the return of their deployed workers at the end of their contract and report erring foreign recruitment agencies (FRAs) to prevent them from employing Filipino workers and protect them from any possible exploitative and abusive situations.

The DMW and the PRAs, on the other hand, both agreed to the proposal of increasing the salary of domestic workers and to include their families in their pre-departure seminars for the whole families to further understand the risks and opportunities of working abroad.

The dialogue is part of the consultation series of the DMW with concerned stakeholders in the thorough review of the current guidelines on the deployment of OFWs to Kuwait following the recent deaths of two Filipina workers in the Arab country. 

Among the agencies attended the dialogue were members of the Philippine Association of Service Exporters Inc. (PASEI), the Philippine Recruitment Agencies Accredited to Saudi Arabia (PRAASA), and the Coalition of Licensed Recruitment Agencies for Domestic and Service Workers (CLADS).