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Minister stresses Kuwait’s keenness to protect expat rights

May 20, 2019 at 1:09 pm

Filipina workers returning home from Kuwait inside a bus after arriving at Manila International Airport on 17 February 2018. [NOEL CELIS/AFP/Getty Images]

Kuwait’s Minister of State for Economic Affairs, Mariam Al-Aqeel, has affirmed her country’s keenness to protect the rights of expatriate workers in general and domestic workers in particular, stressing that Kuwait will not allow the rights of any foreign worker to be violated.

In response to remarks by Philippine’s labour minister, who announced that his country could ban Filipino workers going to Kuwait following the death of a Filipina maid in the Gulf state, the minister said: “We are investigating the death and the aggressor will be punished if an attack is proven.”

“Kuwait is a country of institutions, and the Kuwaiti judiciary is a safe haven for citizens and residents. Kuwait is home to hundreds of thousands of expatriate workers because expat workers enjoy freedom, safe work and protection of their rights,” Al-Aqeel said.

Philippine Vice Consul, Charleson Hermosura, said the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait is closely coordinating with Kuwaiti authorities to investigate the death of Constancia Lago Dayag.

READ: GCC employment policies threaten livelihood of 25m expats

“We cannot conclude anything so far, because investigations are ongoing. We won’t know what really happened until the forensic investigation report comes out,” he said.

The Kuwaiti foreign ministry announced in a statement on Saturday that it was following up with the security authorities who are investigating Dayag’s death.

The 47-year-old was taken to the Al-Sabah hospital in Kuwait amid allegations she had been sexually abused and fatally beaten by her Kuwaiti employer.

Kuwaiti police arrested the 60-year-old employer for questioning, Kuwaiti newspaper Al Qabas reported yesterday.

Last year, tensions between Kuwait and the Philippines erupted when Manila imposed a ban on sending workers to Kuwait after the body of a Filipina maid was found in a refrigerator.

Workers were only allowed to return after an agreement was signed between the two governments to regulate sending workers to Kuwait.