Indonesia halts export of workers

Indonesia is refusing to send labourers to Saudi Arabia for seven weeks to press for better protection of its workers there.

An Indonesian official said the move came after meetings between a parliamentary commission on manpower and government ministers.

At least 370,000 Indonesians work in Saudi Arabia.

In the past few years there have been various reports of Indonesians being mistreated, particularly women working as maids.

The official said the moratorium will not be imposed on Saudi Arabia alone, but other countries too at different times, the official said.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service