Kuwait, Philippines eye end to labour standoff
Last week, Manila imposed ban on worker deployment to Kuwait after Filipina’s murder
Cairo: Kuwaiti and Philippine authorities are seeking to resolve a labour row that followed the murder of a Filipina in Kuwait.
As part of the efforts, Kuwaiti Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Al Jarallah met the Philippines’ visiting Presidential Advisor on Overseas Filipino Workers Abdullah Mamao and agreed on talks between officials from both countries in the first half of next month, Kuwaiti media reported Monday.
“Both countries share friendly ties, and a joint desire to enhance them and overcome the recent crisis in the interest of the two friendly countries and their people,” Kuwait’s official news agency KUNA said.
Last month, a Philippine domestic helper died in Kuwait amid suspicions that her employers were behind her demise. An official Philippine autopsy found that the house maid had been sexually abused before she was murdered. Her Kuwaiti employer and his wife were arrested after the worker’s death.
Last week, the Philippines imposed a ban on the deployment of newly hired workers to Kuwait in reaction to the murder.
In 2018, ties between Kuwait and the Philippines soured after the body of a Philippine housemaid was found inside her employers’ freezer. The row was shortly resolved after the two countries reached an agreement regulating employment of domestic workers.