DOLE: Deployment ban to Lebanon may be lifted soon

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said the six-year ban on the deployment of Filipino workers to Lebanon may soon be lifted after Philippine and Lebanese labor officials signed two landmark agreements on Thursday.   In a news release, the DOLE said Philippine Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz and Lebanon Labor Minister Charbel Nahaz signed a new agreement that will benefit an estimated 31,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) there and others who are interested to seek work in that country. Baldoz said some 96 percent of the OFWs there are domestic workers. The two agreements signed were the Memorandum of Understanding on Labor Cooperation and the accompanying Protocol. The signing of these agreements came a day after Baldoz also signed a Protocol to the Memorandum of Understanding on Labor Cooperation with Jordanian Labor Minister Maher Al Waked, in Amman, Jordan.   “I welcome the successful conclusion of the negotiations with Lebanon which led to the signing of the agreement. Hopefully, this will pave the way to the lifting of the ban on the deployment of domestic workers to Lebanon and the improvement of the process of recruitment and deployment in that country,” Baldoz said.   She added this is a "concrete and positive step" towards the promotion of decent work for domestic workers in accordance with international standards."   The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said a deployment ban had been in effect on Lebanon since 2006 .   Aside from Lebanon, deployment bans are also in effect over Afghanistan, Iraq, Jordan and Nigeria. Baldoz said the Memorandum of Understanding and the Protocol will take effect 30 days from the date of a written notification by both Parties through diplomatic channels indicating that the requirements for its effectivity have been completed.   “Within this period, both Lebanon and the Philippines have agreed to commence discussion and reach an agreement on the implementing guidelines of the Memorandum, including the standard employment contract consistent with the principles of Decent Work for Domestic Workers,” she said.   The agreements The Protocol with Lebanon on the MOU on Labor Cooperation contains outstanding features, which guarantee more protection and welfare for Filipino household service workers in Lebanon.   “It spells out the measures that the two countries will take to ensure that domestic workers to be employed in Lebanon once the ban is lifted will undergo the legal and correct processes in force and in effect in both countries,” said Baldoz.   Some of its features are:  

• Filipino domestic workers to Lebanon may only be done only through Philippine recruitment agencies licensed for the purpose;

• Both Lebanon and the Philippines shall adopt all necessary measures in licensing and inspecting recruitment agencies to prevent prevent abuses of domestic workers and other illegal practices;

• Lebanon shall ensure that a Filipino domestic worker is issued the appropriate visa to work in Lebanon before leaving the Philippines;

• Work permit and residence permits shall be issued the Filipino domestic worker and the renewal thereof shall be at no cost to the worker;

• Persons under 23 years of age shall not be recruited as domestic workers;

• Both Lebanon and the Philippines shall come up with a standard employment contract within 30 days upon the signing of the Protocol;

• Employers shall provide health insurance for Filipino domestic workers at no cost to the worker;

• Filipino domestic workers shall have the right to keep in their possession their passports and identity documents;

• Employers shall open a bank account in the name of the domestic worker where her salary shall be deposited within seven days from her salary due date; the domestic worker shall have a copy of the deposit coupon as proof of payment;

• Employers shall provide the domestic worker with free decent accommodation, food, and medical care and shall not employ her in any work not specified in the contract;

• Filipino domestic helpers shall have a weekly rest day of at least 24 uninterrupted hours; if she resides in the household, she shall not be obliged to remain in the house during her rest day; and there shall be no restriction on her correspondence or religious practices;

• Working hours shall not exceed eight hours a day; for domestic workers residing within the employer’s household, hours on call shall not exceed four hours; and the domestic worker shall have 10 uninterrupted hours of daily rest; and

• Lebanon and the Philippines shall set in place appropriate inspection and conflict resolution mechanisms to resolve problems arising between the domestic worker, employer, and recruitment agency.

• DOLE Undersecretary Danilo Cruz
• Philippine Overseas Employment Administration head Hans Leo Cacdac
• Overseas Workers Welfare Administration head Carmelita Dimzon
• International Labor Affairs Bureau Director Maya Valderrama