DOLE mulls decreased OFW deployment to Kuwait

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III made this announcement following Kuwait’s new order requiring foreign workers to undergo medical examination to confirm that they are free from the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) before being allowed to enter the host country. (PIA file photo)

MANILA – The Philippine government is looking to scale down the deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to Kuwait.

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III made this announcement following Kuwait’s new order requiring foreign workers to undergo medical examination to confirm that they are free from the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) before being allowed to enter the host country.

“It’s not a retaliatory order. It’s a practical order because we will be requiring so many additional requirements from our workers and that giving more burden to our workers so in order to prevent our workers from going there we might as well go to other countries where there are not so much requirement so we have to scale down on Kuwait,” Bello said in a press conference on Wednesday.

Bello added that the all sectors are covered by the deployment slowdown.

“All sectors are covered from skilled, semi-skilled, professionals to HSWs (household service workers),” he said.

The scaling down will be implemented this week.

“That was an argument between DOLE and the Department of Foreign Affairs this morning so probably that will be signed anytime today (Wednesday) or tomorrow (Thursday),” Bello said.

On Tuesday, Kuwait’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation issued a circular to passengers coming from 10 countries, including the Philippines, to undergo such examination to prove that they are free from Covid-19.

Aside from the Philippines, other countries covered by the order are India, Bangladesh, Egypt, Syria, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Sri Lanka, Georgia, and Lebanon.

It added that the examination certificate must be issued by health centers approved by the Embassy State of Kuwait.

If there is no Kuwaiti embassy in these countries, they must be certified by local health authorities.

The circular will take effect on March 8.