Philippine Consul-General Paul Raymund Cortes has expressed support to a draft UAE federal law that will not only safeguard the rights of maids, but also house cooks, security guards, drivers, gardeners and household workers.
Last month, the Federal National Council (FNC) passed a draft federal law on domestic workers that will mandate 30 days of annual paid leave, the right to retain personal documents, and daily rest of 12 hours.
“When laws are passed that allow people more liberties within the confines of their terms of employment, we contextualize our labor rules and regulations within the ambit of humanity and that is more certainly always a good thing,” Khaleej Times quoted Cortes as saying.
The law is also expected to wipe out cases of sexual, physical and verbal abuse among domestic workers.
According to Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) Dubai, the Migrant Workers and Other Overseas Filipinos Resource Center sheltered around 460 runaway maids in the first six months of the year.
The Filipino women reported cases of sickness, overwork, maltreatment, verbal and physical abuse, insufficient food, unpaid salaries, and non-issuance of employment visa.
Meanwhile, the number of distressed Filipino domestic workers in the UAE nearly doubled to 114 in June from around 60 women in March.
“There was a spike or surge in the number of runaway domestic workers during the holy month of Ramadan period. The majority just arrived one month ago, some stayed with their employers for about five days and ran away,” Felicitas Bay, Philippine labor attache to Dubai and the Northern Emirates, said.
Photo Credit: Dawn
