Labor Attaché Felicitas Bay has commended the two-day campaign by Dubai Police upholding household service workers’ protection from long working hours, abuse, and unpaid salaries.
The move by Dubai Police was made ahead of the implementation of a draft federal law that will safeguard the rights of domestic workers in the UAE.
As part of the “Treat them with kindness” campaign, Dubai Police distributed brochures in two malls and reached out to 300 maids who are working with Emirati families.
“This is a very positive development,” Bay told The Filipino Times. “Domestic workers are workers and should be treated decently. This is a significant move by the police as it means a recognition that domestic workers should be treated in a decent and fair manner; That they should not be subject to violence and abuse,” she said.
As part of the campaign, Col. Abdul Rahman Al Shair, director of human trafficking control center at Dubai Police, urged employers to pay maids’ salaries on time and treat them in a humane manner.
Al Shair stressed that maids are not slaves; that they must have proper food and health and should not be made to work more than eight hours a day. He warned that abusing maids is a form of exploitation and is punishable by law.
Al Shair also added proper treatment of maids will prevent human trafficking among absconding maids, who will be lured by criminals to escape from their employers.
“[They] lure them to escape from their sponsors and later the maid is locked inside a flat without food or water and forced to work in the sex trade. We want them to understand the laws and their rights,” he said in a media interview.
The annual report of the National Committee to Combat Human Trafficking showed that there were eight similar cases reported in Dubai last year, with 31 suspects arrested and 11 victims rescued.
Most the cases involved absconding maids, who were forced to work as sex laborers, according to local media reports.
Article No. 1 of the Federal Law on Human Trafficking defines exploitation as all forms of sexual exploitation, engaging others in prostitution, servitude, forced labor, organ trafficking and slavery. Offenders may be sentenced to five-year imprisonment and Dh100,000 fine.
(Gelin Castro)
