Abdulaziz Al-Ali announced that there were promising signs of a meeting between Kuwait and Philippines. This meeting is intended to revive bilateral talks and bridge the gap between Kuwait and the Philippines, ensuring that new domestic workers can be sent from Manila. Al-Ali was optimistic, especially after Hans Leo J Cacdac joined the Philippine Ministry of Labor. This has given hope to stakeholders interested in domestic workers.
Al-Ali, in an interview with Al-Jarida highlighted the significant presence and contribution of Filipino domestic workers to Kuwait. They are about 50% of the total domestic workforce. He stressed the importance of this group for Kuwaiti and foreign families who prefer Filipino workers because of their ability to communicate, good educational background, and understanding of local customs and traditions. It is difficult to replace this workforce with someone who can fill the void in the market, which makes Filipino workers highly desired.
Al-Ali called on the relevant government agencies, to facilitate the meeting, to act quickly and earnestly. The goal is to finalize bilateral talks and reach comprehensive agreements. These discussions are vital to resolving the previous contentious issues that led to the banning of Filipino workers from Kuwait. He expressed his gratitude to Sheikh Fahd al-Yousef for his willingness to accept visitors to Kuwait within the legal framework.
Al-Ali also stressed the importance of signing more memorandums-of-understanding (MOUs), beyond just two or even three, with different labor-exporting nations. He said that diversifying sources of domestic workers could help reduce recruitment costs, and maintain market equilibrium if a country temporarily halted worker exports.
Source Arabtimes
