Requirements set for employers taking Pinoy maids out of Kuwait

The Philippine Embassy in Kuwait is set to implement new regulations regarding the bringing of Filipino household service workers (HSWs) out of Kuwait next month.

A report on Arab Times said starting April 1, employers who want to bring their Filipino maids out of Kuwait should personally submit an affidavit of consent from the worker and a letter request addressed to the embassy.

Both the employer and the employee should personally appear before the embassy, the report said.

The report quoted Philippine Ambassador Renato Pedro Villa as saying that the move was due to the fact that a number of Filipino workers have been brought out of Kuwait without the embassy' knowledge, which he said was tantamount to human trafficking.

The report also said the employers must also submit an amendment of the work contract to the embassy if they want to bring their Filipino helpers to other countries.

"If they (Filipino helpers) will be brought to London or the US, the compensation there will be considered in drafting of the amended contract because the salary of HSWs there is different from the salary here in Kuwait," said Philippine Labor Attaché Atty Cesar Chavez Jr. in the report.

A Filipino HSW in Kuwait receives a minimum monthly salary of US$400.

Chavez said the new regulations would as beneficial to the employer as to the employee.

He said if the Filipino worker runs away while in another country, the employer can ask the Philippine government's help in locating the worker.

Villa said the Philippine Embassy will issue a note to all embassies in Kuwait regarding the implementation of its new regulation to alert them whenever an employer applies for a visa for his Filipino worker.  —KBK, GMA News