Another domestic worker killed in Kuwait

MANILA, Philippines — Another domestic worker in Kuwait died at the hands of her employer, the Department of Foreign Affairs said, nearly two years after the Philippines and the Gulf country signed an agreement protecting migrant workers.

In a statement late Monday, DFA said the domestic worker was allegedly killed by her employer’s wife. The agency did not disclose the name of the victim and details of the incident.

 “The continuing incidents of violence and abuse of Filipino domestic workers in Kuwait violates the spirit of the agreement signed in May 2018 that seeks to promote and protect their welfare,” DFA said in a statement late Monday.

The agency said the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait is coordinating closely with Kuwaiti authorities to “ensure that justice will be served.”

The department added it has summoned the Kuwaiti ambassador in Manila to “express the government’s outrage over the seeming lack of protection of our domestic workers at the hands of their employers and to press for complete transparency in the investigation of the case and to call for the swift prosecution of the perpetrators to the fullest extent of the law.”

In May 2018, the Philippines and Kuwait signed a memorandum of agreement that sought to protect Filipino workers in the Gulf nation following the outrage after the body of domestic worker Joanna Demafelis was discovered inside a freezer.

The agreement requires the Philippines and Kuwait to uphold ethical recruitment policies, systems and procedures for the employment of domestic workers and enjoins the two countries to take legal action against erring employers.

Employers are also required to provide food, housing and clothing to their workers.

Last May, domestic worker Constancia Dayag died after suffering various contusions and hematoma. The Labor department said there were indications that she was sexually abused before she died.