Philippines halts sending workers to Kuwait

MANILA: The Philippines suspended the sending of workers to Kuwait on Friday, its labour minister said, a day after the country´s president complained of abuses being inflicted on Filipino domestic helpers, leading to several suicides. Labour Secretary Silvestre Belo said the halt on sending workers to Kuwait would be in force “pending investigation of the causes of deaths of about six or seven of our OFWs”, he told Reuters, referring to Overseas Filipino Workers. There are more than 250,000 Filipinos in Kuwait, based on the Philippine foreign ministry´s estimate, most of them working as domestic helpers.