The Philippines Domestic Workers Ban on Kuwait Remains
The Claim
The Philippines lifted the ban on sending Filipino workers to Kuwait.
News posted on
Emerging story
In April 2021, Kuwaiti media outlets and social media users reported that the Philippines lifted the labor ban on Kuwait imposed in 2020. News websites claimed that the Kuwaiti Federation of Domestic Workers Recruitment Agencies announced that the Philippines lifted the ban to Kuwait.
The claim was circulating in Arabic and English.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar's investigation found the circulating claim misleading. Kuwait is still waiting for the official decision and announcement from Manila. The Philippine Embassy in Kuwait denied the circulating claims via their official Twitter account.
According to the Philippine Labor Attache to Kuwait, Nasser Mustafa, “Recommendation has been submitted but no official decision yet to lift the deployment ban on new Filipino domestic workers to Kuwait. Let's wait.”
According to the Philippines government estimate, 250,000 Filipinos were affected by a total ban on the deployment of workers to Kuwait.
President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the total ban following the discovery of the body of a female Filipino worker inside a freezer at an abandoned apartment unit.
President Duterte also suspended sending workers to Kuwait after reports that several Filipinos driven to commit suicide due to abuse by employers.
However, in 2020 the Philippines partially lifted the deployment ban to Kuwait for skilled, semi-skilled, and professional workers only.
Additional reporting by Ahmad Sabri.
