DUBAI: The Saudi Arabia government said on Tuesday that it would lift a ban on maids from the Philippines to the ultra-conservative Gulf kingdom within the month, in a move seen by some as a negative for female laborers in the country. According to Philippines Labor Undersecretary Danilo Cruz, the two countries are expected to sign a new agreement that would allow Filipino maids to return to the Gulf country. The MOU would provide for a model employment contract to be implemented in Saudi Arabia, Cruz told a press conference on 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. Last month, reports in Saudi Arabia indicated that households were continuing to hire Filipino maids despite a July 2011 ban on their recruitment. They were hiring the maids from neighboring countries and skirting the regulations against hiring directly from the East Asian country. At least one Saudi national was quoted as saying by Arabianbusiness.com that he could hire a Filipina maid from Doha for one-fourth of the prevailing charges back in his home country where the rates range between SR20,000 to 25,000. But sources in the recruitment business told The Peninsula that since the Filipina and Indonesian maids going to Saudi Arabia from Doha are quite few, the possibility of shortages taking place or the hiring charges going up were ruled out. Currently in Qatar, one must spend QR8,000 to QR8,500 to hire a Filipina maid, while the cost is slightly more at between QR9,000 and QR10,000 for an Indonesian maid, a manpower agency official told the newspaper. “We don't think the charges would go up due to the rising demand in the neighboring Saudi Arabia because we are preparing to bring maids from other countries, among them, Kenya and Cambodia, which is likely to bring the hiring costs down,” the official said. But not everyone is pleased with the decision. A number of Filipina maids living in Dubai told Bikyamasr.com that they would “never consider” going to Saudi after hearing stories from their friends and families. “They are treated like slaves and it is horrible,” Maria, who asked that her surname remain anonymous, told Bikyamasr.com. “They have been beaten, tortured and raped by their Saudi employers and the government does nothing, so why would we consider going there?” BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/cLVzB Tags: Maids, Philippines, Workers Section: East Asia, Latest News, Saudi Arabia, Women
