Ban on Filipinos to continue
Thursday, May 25, 2023
The Ministry of Interior affirmed rejection of any infringement on Kuwait's sovereignty or the dignity of Kuwaiti nationals.
The ministry will continue halting issuance of any types of visas for the Philippines nationals as Manila rejected Kuwait's conditions aimed to prevent recurrence of worker violations, the Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
"As per the instructions of the First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Interior and acting Minister of Defense Sheikh Talal Khaled Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, Kuwait is working to outsource the skills and expertise needed for its labor market through contracts with other countries.
"The sovereignty of Kuwait and the dignity of its people are a red line," according to the statement.
Under a request from the Philippines government, a bilateral meeting was held to probe the issue of the visas for Filipinos, which were halted in the wake of violations by the Philippines embassy of the labor agreements, and the lawless practices and crimes by Filipino workers.
A letter from Kuwait's Public Authority of Manpower outlined the main violations of the Filipinos as follows:
Forcing the employment offices in Kuwait to recall Filipino housemaids and workers from the houses of Kuwaiti citizens and lodge them at private residence of the offices in contravention of the set rules.
Forcing the employment offices to locate the escapees from Kuwaiti employers, thus taking the rule of the competent institutions in Kuwait.
Applying pressures on Kuwaiti employers and offices while renewing the work contracts through contacting the latter directly without recourse to the competent authorities in Kuwait and dealing inappropriately with the Kuwaiti citizens.
Failure of the Philippines embassy to authenticate the work contract without a legal justification in a flagrant contravention of the Kuwaiti laws.
In addition, lodging the Filipino violators of the residence laws at private shelters and camps belonging to the embassy while the latter was aware of the complaints against those persons.
During the meeting with the Philippines delegation, the Kuwaiti side sought a recognition of the violations of the embassy violations and a pledge of no recurrence in the future.
The delegation asked for a 72-hour interval for consultation with the Filipino government, and then informed the Kuwaiti side of rejection of the conditions.
Thereby, the Kuwaiti Ministry of Interior affirmed commitment to withholding the visa issuances for the Filipino nationals sine die, the statement explained.
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