Kuwait announced it is seeking to recruit domestic workers from Ethiopia to cover for the workforce shortfall following the ban the Philippines placed on its citizens on working in the country, Kuwait Times reported.
The ban followed the murder of a Joanna Demafelis, 29, whose body was discovered in a freezer earlier this year, bearing signs of torture.
Her employers, a Lebanese man and Syrian woman, were sentenced to death last week.
Meanwhile, the Ethiopian ambassador to Kuwait told the newspaper that his government was committed to resending domestic workers to Kuwait, but only once a labor agreement was signed.
Ethiopia wants to ensure that the workers’ rights will be protected while working in Kuwait, Ambassador Abdulaziz Ahmed Adem said.
“Last week we sent the draft copy of the new agreement to the ministry of foreign affairs to be signed by both countries. Once approved, the deployment of workers will resume soon,” he added.
The deal states that the salary of workers should not be less than $400 per month, Ethiopian domestic workers must work no more than 10 hours daily, passports of the workers should be handed to the embassy or preferably retained by the employees and salaries must be deposited in the bank at the end of the month.
Last year, a woman filmed her Ethiopian maid falling from the seventh floor without attempting to save her. Kuwaiti police detained her after the video went viral across the Middle East.