Too much scope for abuse from Employers

Arab Time, 30 June 2008... and the Filipino's generally get it better than the Indonesians, Ethiopians, Nepalis...

Hands off

By Rev Andy Thompson St Paul’s Anglican Church, Ahmadi YOU see them everywhere! I cannot image life in the Gulf without them. Hardworking, robust, they are a blessing to Kuwaitis and expatriates alike. Constantly serving with a smile and tragically among the most exploited of the workers. They are the Overseas Filipino Workers. Some of the text messages I have received on my phone this week have included the following. “Pls help us I’m afraid this week all of us will be taken by the police . . . pls have pity on us, as we are asking for justice.” “Our feelings of joy have vanished and been replaced by fear. We are told by Phil embsy that 8 of us have cases filed against us by our employers.” These messages have been sent by detained domestic workers. Some 95 Filipina women have been detained lately mainly because their employers had no need for them and some of them face trumped up charges. I spent Friday evening at a police station listening to yet another story of the one of the prisoners there. He was seeking to transfer his job to another employer and his boss told him to come in and sign the release form that would allow him to start work with his new company. Unknown to him his boss had spitefully arranged for the police to come and arrest him on the charge of absconding. Happily his story had a good ending and he was subsequently released.. What is going on here? Clearly the Philipines Embassy must be deluged for requests for help. The sheer numbers of OFWs in Kuwait must mean inevitably that some will get into trouble with the law, but so many of those whom I have met are victims of petty and arrogant employers. I want to say to these employers “Hands off these Filipinos - where is your mercy and compassion?” I love the Filipinos sense of humour, their love for music and see at times an almost childlike zest for life. These qualities are seen by most of us in their work places. The Filipinos provide a substantial workforce not just of domestic help, but also nurses, medical technicians, engineers, construction workers and service and retail staff. The Kuwaiti authorities are in a bind. They have good laws which uphold the rights of most workers, but quite simply there are not enough pro bono lawyers, workplace inspectors, and shelter for distressed workers. The automatic response is just to put workers in jail. Like anywhere else in the world, the legal system takes time to process individuals and this is tough on someone who has family depending on them for income. It is even worse when they are in jail because their employer has a personal gripe against them. Individual employers have far too much scope for abuse. The only solution for this abuse is to take the power out of their hands. The sooner the private sponsorship system is replaced by a government scheme, the better. Hopefully it will mean less injustice being perpetrated. In the meantime, thank God for the OFWs they are a blessing to all of us in Kuwait. andythompson1968@hotmail.com