Saudi to lift hiring ban on Filipino maids

2:35 am | Wednesday, January 11th, 2012

A maid carries a folding chair for waiting Saudi women along the sea front in the Red Sea coastal city of Jeddah. AFP File Photo

Saudi Arabia is expected to lift within the month the suspension it imposed last year on the hiring of Filipino maids by the Middle East kingdom, a labor official said Tuesday.

Labor Undersecretary Danilo Cruz said the two countries would soon sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the deployment of Filipino maids that would pave the way for the return of Filipino household service workers (HSWs) to the oil-rich kingdom.

The MOU concerns a model employment contract that will be implemented in Saudi Arabia, Cruz told a press conference Tuesday.

He said the breakthrough resulted from a meeting in Manila last week of a technical working group consisting of representatives from the Philippine labor department and the Saudi Embassy in Manila.

The Saudis suspended last March the processing of employment contracts for Filipino maids after complaining about Philippine government rules requiring a minimum wage of $400 and a minimum age of 23 years for HSWs.

They also complained about the Philippine requirement that Saudi employers submit a sketch of their homes and disclose their annual income.

Originally posted at 07:43 pm | Tuesday, January 10, 2012

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Tags: Domestic Helpers , hiring ban , household service workers , Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , Labor , maids , Middle east , OFW , Overseas employment , Overseas Filipino workers , overseas work , recruitment , Saudi Arabia

Anonymous

Shame on the Philippine government!!
Natutuwa pa tayo na magpapadala ng mga alipin sa Saudi, wala na bang makabuluhang plataporma para sa mga kababaihang naghihirap?
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_5CJCI5UE2KPDAQUDIY7RVSOPOU Tiboy

dito na dapat maki sawsaw ang simbahang katoliko, di lang sa condom at pajero. wag na sanang pirmahan ang MOU-Maraming Opisyal na Ungas. be serious pinas!
Anonymous

I have personally met some pinay DHs who fortunately landed on good Saudi employers who treated them like family so much so that even if they got offered a higher salary by another Saudi, they did not transfer. I don’t know how much the percentage would be but there are good Saudis as well as there are bad Saudis. What the Philippine and Saudi government should think about are measures on how our maids can resign properly and legally in case they end up with a bad Saudi. That is the bigger problem over the question of salaries.

Anonymous

for sure the percentage of good Saudis is lower than 10%…
Type your comment here.
Anonymous

for sure less than 10% of the Saudis are real good people…
Anonymous

HOW CAN THEY RESIGN IF MOSTLY OF THE CONTRACTS ARE BEING FALSIFICATED BY RECRUITMENT AGENCIES AND THEY ARE NOT ALLOWED TO GO OUTSIDE THE HOME THEY R WORKING TO……THE BOTTOM LINE IS THAT MOSTLY SAUDIS ARENT THAT GOOD PEOPLE…FILIPINOS ARE CHRISTIAN AND F THEY COMMIT BIG SINS..THEY ARE KILLED IN MOSLEM WAY…IS THAT FAIR?……SAUDIS BAD MOUTH WORD IS TERMED “HAYWAN”..OR “ANIMAL”…BUT THEY DONT KNOW AND ACCEPT THAT THEY R D 1 WHO BEHAVE LIKE HAYOP…

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IGXWC5VBGSPWAYPG7UQYGS3LEE Vicente

Labor Under Secretary Danilo Cruz itong pag lift na ban ng Saudi Arabian Government para makapag hire sila ulit ng Filipina Maids ay huwag nyo po itong ituring na isang accomplishment ng Dept of Labor and Employment. Sa totoo lang mas magandang FOREVER ng hindi mag padala ng Filipina Maid ang ating bansa sa Saudi Arabia. Huwag po kayong mag bulag bulagan sa katotohanan kung anong DANGER ang hinaharap ng isang Filipina Maid pag dating nya sa bahay ng employer na arabo. Marahil tama po kayo na maraming gustong mag trabaho doon as MAID kahit alam nila ang maaari nilang sapitin sa kamay ng kanilang employer, pero nandyan po kayo ang agency ninyo para tingnan ng maagi at pigilan ang mga taong itong na gustong mamasukan bilang MAID sa Saudi Arabia. Ang pagiging malupit ng employer na arabo sa maid nila ay hindi ito ISOLATED CASE lamang, May mga kababayan na tayong katulong na napugutan ng ulo, namatay, kung hindi naman umuwi sa Pilipinas na baliw dahil sa sinapit nila sa malupit nilang among arabo sa saudi arabia.

Dalangain ko sa ating MAHAL NA AMA na sana hindi na ito matuloy na MOU.
Anonymous

Fresh Philippine sex-meat for the Saudi Market.
Anonymous

Sana may malawakang welga regarding this sa Manila…upang harangin pagbalik ng mga Pinay DH sa Saudi…..kulang kulang na 200 countries na meron sa mundo….wala n b tayong ibang market na mahanap sa Saudi nalang….kung dilikado nga sa mga lalaki ang Saudi pano pa kaya mga kapatid at mga ilaw ng tahanan nating mga babae….matakasan man nila mga amo nila..saan sila pupunta..babagsak sa sex den ng ibang lahi…makikisama sa iba at mapipilitang gumawa ng kasalanan….DIYOS KO SANA DI MAGING DESPERADO ANG PILIPINAS SA ISYONG ITO…ito b ang paraan para pahalagahan ang mga OFW na nagliligtas sa ekonomiya ng bansa? PINOY IN RIYADH.KSA
Anonymous

sarap ipamukha sa Saudi na di natin kawalan na di pabalikin mga Pinay DH sa Saudi…..F NAGBAN CLA NOON…PUEDE KAYA NATING GAWIN NA NASA PAGLIFT NILA..ANG PINAS NMAN ANG MAGBAN NG MGA PNAY DH NA NAGBABALAK MAGTUNGO SA SAUDI?
Anonymous

SALUDO SA INDONESIA…..PAGKATAPOS MAPUGUTAN NG INDONESIAN DH NA NAKAPATAY SA AMO NYA NA NAGTANGKANG GAHASAIN SIYA……BINAN LAHAT NG INDONESIAN PRESIDENT ANG LAHAT NG INDONESIAN GUSTONG MAGTRABAHO SA SAUDI…

Saudi to lift hiring ban on Filipino maids

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