10,000 Filipino workers in Kuwait to be repatriated

(MENAFN- Asia Times) About 10,000 Filipino workers in Kuwait are expected to be repatriated as they have overstayed their work permits.

Sarah Arriola, Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs, said the overseas workers qualified for repatriation, reported.

Arriola said the Philippine government would shoulder the cost of the workers' airfares and penalties for overstaying their visas.

Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific will help the government bring back the Filipino workers by providing specials flights from Kuwait to Manila, reported.

Both airlines said they would provide Airbus A330 aircraft for the Filipinos in Kuwait. Cebu Pacific can take 436 passengers in each plane, while Philippine Airlines can carry 363 passengers in each flight.

There are more than 250,000 Filipinos working in Kuwait, mostly as domestic helpers.

Fears have been raised about their well-being after the death of at least seven Filipinos in recent times, as well as the high rate of abuse and sexual harassment that maids have complained about in the Gulf state.

Hundreds of workers have reportedly flown home in recent days and ties between the two nations have been strained by recent reports of deaths and assaults.

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