Kuwait visa suspension displaces 815 OFWs, says DMW

FILE PHOTO: Overseas Filipino Workers or OFWs at the airport arrive at an airport in Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines, on May 26, 2020. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) reported that travel to Kuwait has been “deferred” for 815 overseas workers (OFWs) following the Gulf state’s suspension of new visas for Filipinos.

At least 515 of those affected are domestic workers while the rest were supposed to work in service industries as waiters, vendors, sales associates, and nurses.

Secretary Susan Ople said in a statement Saturday that the DMW is set to provide financial packages and job-matching assistance for the displaced workers “as both countries find the best way forward in addressing current concerns.”

“The DMW met with private recruitment agencies with job orders for Kuwait and elsewhere to discuss joint efforts to help their workers look for either foreign or local employment so that they can continue to earn for their families,” she added.

Specifically, the DMW is preparing a monetary aid package of P30,000 for every holder of an Overseas Employment Certificate or OEC who had already shelled out expenses to secure work in Kuwait.

“We are optimistic that all these issues raised by both parties in the talks will be resolved in due time. Meanwhile, life continues, and the Department of Migrant Workers is working closely with the private sector to help our workers and their families,” Ople said.

The Kuwaiti visa suspension order only applies to new entrants to the nation’s job market, and will not affect the 270,000 OFWs already working in the Gulf state.

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