PHL, Saudi officials agree on final text of employment contract for domestic workers

The Philippines and Saudi Arabia finalized last weekend the text of a bilateral standard employment contract — the "Agreement on Domestic Worker Recruitment." Philippine Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Ezzedin Tago said the matter was firmed up during meetings last Saturday and Sunday, Arab News reported Tuesday. “The two sides also agreed on the formation of a committee to periodically review the implementation of the contract to be signed when Labor Secretary (Rosalinda Baldoz) visits the Kingdom,” Tago told Arab News. The draft agreement prescribes the regulation and control of domestic recruitment costs in the Philippines and Saudi Arabia. It also allows the parties involved recourse to competent authorities to address contractual disputes, and provides legal measures against recruiters who violate laws. The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Baldoz and Saudi Minister of Labor Engr. Adel Fakieh will formally sign the agreement but did not mention a specific date yet. The DFA quoted Tago as saying this agreement will complement the Standard Domestic Worker Employment Contract agreed upon last year. "And now with the draft agreement on domestic worker recruitment being finalized, we expect not only the enhancement of the protection of the rights and the promotion of the welfare of our domestic workers in Saudi Arabia but also the strengthening of the bilateral relations between the Philippines and the Kingdom,” Tago said. As of Monday, Tago said the Philippine Embassy had verified 6,000 contracts. “Even if the contract has not yet been signed by the two governments, the Philippine Embassy has begun verifying employment contracts,” he said. The Philippine delegation led by Tago included: - Labor Undersecretary Danilo Cruz - Philippine Overseas Employment Administration head Hans Cacdac - Overseas Workers Welfare Administration deputy administrator Josefino Torres - Department of Foreign Affairs executive director for Middle East and Africa Nathaniel Imperial Joining Tago in the Philippine delegation were Vice Consul Paulo Saret, and Labor Attachés Adam Musa and Alejandro Padaen. Representing Saudi Arabia were Ministry of Labor Director General for Bilateral Affairs Waleed Orainan, and Mohammad Al Toraibi and Mohammad Al Sharka. The DFA said a joint technical working group from both countries agreed on the draft agreement on domestic worker recruitment at the Ministry of Labor in Riyadh last March 16. "The proposed agreement aims to enhance Philippine-Saudi cooperation on the recruitment of Filipino domestic workers, and seeks to protect the rights of both the worker and the employer and regulate the contractual relations between them," the DFA said. Labor Undersecretary Cruz initialed the agreement as head of the Philippine technical working group, while his Saudi counterpart, labor deputy minister for international affairs Dr. Ahmed Al-Fahaid, initialed for Saudi Arabia. - VVP, GMA News