Report: KSA, PHL reach deal on domestic helpers

The Philippines and Saudi Arabia have agreed on a standard service contract for Filipino household workers in the Kingdom, a KSA-based news site reported Sunday. Arab News said the KSA Embassy in Manila and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) agreed on the matter during a meeting in Manila last month. “During the meeting..., the two parties agreed on a standard employment contract that indicates who's in charge of repatriation, excludes provisions unacceptable to the Kingdom and provides weekly rest for such workers, including housemaids,” Ambassador Ezzedin Tago told Arab News. Tago noted Saudi Arabia signed the International Labor Organization (ILO) convention on decent work for domestic workers in June 2011. He added the contract is subject to the laws of the Kingdom and does not indicate any amount, although the "understanding" is that a domestic worker would receive $400 monthly. “This is in accordance with a regulation of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration in December 2006,” Tago said. Also, he said household service workers will have one day rest per week and eight hours of rest a day during weekdays. He added the contract will also have to be submitted for approval to the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and the DOLE. “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs may also refer the contract to the Ministry of Labor and related government agencies in the Kingdom,” he said. Arab News cited an earlier report by Arabic daily Al-Hayat that countries have signed an accord setting the monthly salary of a Filipino maid at a minimum of $400. Under the accord, the employer must also give her a weekly day off and an annual holiday of at least 30 days. Maids from the Philippines have the right to keep their passports during their stay in the Kingdom and to have a free ticket to the Philippines every year, Al-Hayat added. Also, the employer must open a bank account for the housemaid to transfer her salary at the end of every month. The employer is also bound to provide the maid with decent housing and food or an allowance. — LBG, GMA News