The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) on Friday convened a dialogue with Philippine recruitment agencies (PRAs) deploying overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to Kuwait and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to address concerns, propose measures, and enhance protection.

Key issues raised during the dialogue included challenges in monitoring workers onsite, ensuring compliance with employment contracts, and addressing the responsibilities of recruitment agencies and their foreign counterparts.

“Our goal in policy-making is not just for the sake of doing policy, but to actually protect our people and save lives,” DMW Undersecretary for Policy and International Cooperation Patricia Yvonne Caunan, who led the consultation, said.

“The overall value that we have is to give importance to the OFWs, who should be the center of everything that we do.”

Caunan said the initiative is part of a series of consultations mandated by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to thoroughly review deployment guidelines, especially in the Gulf nations, and ensure the safety and welfare of OFWs, particularly the vulnerable workers.

Among the suggestions made by recruitment agencies were incorporating specific terms and job descriptions in employment contracts, reducing the duration of employment contracts from two years to one year, increasing the salaries of domestic workers, and involving OFWs’ families in pre-departure seminars to help them understand the risks and opportunities of overseas employment.

Meanwhile, the DMW called on recruitment agencies to enhance monitoring efforts of their deployed workers and respond promptly to emergencies.

The agencies were also reminded of their obligation to ensure workers’ safe return upon contract completion, and to report erring foreign recruitment firms to prevent future cases of exploitation and abuse.

Both the DMW and the recruitment agencies expressed a shared commitment to protecting OFWs, particularly household workers deployed to Kuwait.

The DMW also vowed to integrate significant inputs from the dialogue into policies to either restrict or impose stricter measures for deployments to safeguard OFW welfare.

The consultation included representatives from the Philippine Association of Service Exporters Inc. (PASEI), the Philippine Recruitment Agencies Accredited to Saudi Arabia (PRAASA), and the Coalition of Licensed Recruitment Agencies for Domestic and Service Workers (CLADS). (PNA)