ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka .
Mar 24, Colombo : Sri Lankan expatriate workers sent home US $ 3.3 billion in 2009 making the remittances the nation's main foreign exchange earner.
This was disclosed by the secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Employment Promotion Sunil S. Sirisena when he addressed the meeting following the opening of the first Provincial office of the Foreign Employment Bureau in Vavuniya.
This is a sharp increase from the figure of remittances of US $ 2.9 billion in 2008.
The secretary said that there are 1.8 million Sri Lankan expatriate workers presently. International labor migration from Sri Lanka has grown remarkably over the last decades, with numbers increasing more than tenfold, according to the Central Bank, Annual Report 2008.
Annual outflow of workers is about 250,000 people. In 2007, the equivalent of 23% of total employment generated and 21% of Sri Lanka 's labor force was made up by foreign employment.
Migrant remittances are a mainstay of the Lankan economy, accounting for about 7% of GDP and 36% of export earnings.
Friday, March 26, 2010
FOREIGN EMPLOYMENT BRANCH OPENED IN JAFFNA
Daily News
Boon for foreign job seekers
Suraj A. Bandara From Jaffna
Opening a branch of Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau is a long felt need of the people of Jaffna , EPDP leader and Social Welfare and Social Services Minister Douglas Devananda said.
A huge demand will be created among the youth of Jaffna to seek job opportunities abroad after a proper training given by this institution, he said.
The 26th branch of the Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau was set up in the Jaffna District yesterday with the participation of Minister Douglas Devan-anda. This will target all skilled youth in the region. Domestic labour will not be encouraged on foreign employment since there is a surprising demand for the Sri Lankan skilled labour from all over the world. Jaffna is famous for educated and intelligent people and if their knowledge is properly harnessed we will be able to challenge anyone in the world, he said.
The Minister said this was initiated under the program of ‘Northern Spring’ and with the Direct supervision of Senior Presidential Adviser Basil Rajapaksa. This region will be facilitated with all supplies to be on par with the South, the Minister added.
Devananda said, foreign employment is a good source of income for the emerging youth who wasted time for unnecessary targets. Now people will not travel to Colombo to get training and they all will be provided with an expert panel of trainers.
“I requested from the Foreign Employment Minister to set up an office in our area and he directed his officials to set up this Institution with immediate effect to benefit Northern youth.
Northern Governor Major General G.A. Chandrasiri, Foreign Employment Ministry Secretary Sunil A. Sirisena, Foreign Employment Bureau Chairman Kingsley Ranawaka and DGM (training and conciliation) Mangala Randeniya also participated
Boon for foreign job seekers
Suraj A. Bandara From Jaffna
Opening a branch of Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau is a long felt need of the people of Jaffna , EPDP leader and Social Welfare and Social Services Minister Douglas Devananda said.
A huge demand will be created among the youth of Jaffna to seek job opportunities abroad after a proper training given by this institution, he said.
The 26th branch of the Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau was set up in the Jaffna District yesterday with the participation of Minister Douglas Devan-anda. This will target all skilled youth in the region. Domestic labour will not be encouraged on foreign employment since there is a surprising demand for the Sri Lankan skilled labour from all over the world. Jaffna is famous for educated and intelligent people and if their knowledge is properly harnessed we will be able to challenge anyone in the world, he said.
The Minister said this was initiated under the program of ‘Northern Spring’ and with the Direct supervision of Senior Presidential Adviser Basil Rajapaksa. This region will be facilitated with all supplies to be on par with the South, the Minister added.
Devananda said, foreign employment is a good source of income for the emerging youth who wasted time for unnecessary targets. Now people will not travel to Colombo to get training and they all will be provided with an expert panel of trainers.
“I requested from the Foreign Employment Minister to set up an office in our area and he directed his officials to set up this Institution with immediate effect to benefit Northern youth.
Northern Governor Major General G.A. Chandrasiri, Foreign Employment Ministry Secretary Sunil A. Sirisena, Foreign Employment Bureau Chairman Kingsley Ranawaka and DGM (training and conciliation) Mangala Randeniya also participated
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Himal Southasian Runs Story on Migrant Suicide Epidemic
March 16th, 2010
Abusive employers Housemaids Lebanon Suicide Videos Women
Himal Southasian, a regional journal, has carried a story on suicides of migrant women in its online edition, written by Sophia, our Nepal-based editor. You can read the full story here, and also see some clips from Kesang Tseten’s work-in-progress Saving Dolma. We are eagerly awaiting this film!
Abusive employers Housemaids Lebanon Suicide Videos Women
Himal Southasian, a regional journal, has carried a story on suicides of migrant women in its online edition, written by Sophia, our Nepal-based editor. You can read the full story here, and also see some clips from Kesang Tseten’s work-in-progress Saving Dolma. We are eagerly awaiting this film!
Lebanon: Sri Lankan Suicide
March 19th, 2010
Housemaids Lebanon Suicide
The Lebanese National News Agency reported today that, in Jal El Dib (Christian suburb of Beirut), Sri Lankan maid, Ambagla Mudian Silage (born 1980) jumped from the window of Al Rabih employment office located at the fourth floor of Hafiz Abu Jaoude building. She died instantly after her head was completely crushed.
This is the third death of migrant domestic workers occurring in an employment office and not at the employer’s house. This is a worrying pattern, especially in light of the apparent unaccountability of employment offices bringing maids to Lebanon.
Originally published on http://ethiopiansuicides.blogspot.com/
Housemaids Lebanon Suicide
The Lebanese National News Agency reported today that, in Jal El Dib (Christian suburb of Beirut), Sri Lankan maid, Ambagla Mudian Silage (born 1980) jumped from the window of Al Rabih employment office located at the fourth floor of Hafiz Abu Jaoude building. She died instantly after her head was completely crushed.
This is the third death of migrant domestic workers occurring in an employment office and not at the employer’s house. This is a worrying pattern, especially in light of the apparent unaccountability of employment offices bringing maids to Lebanon.
Originally published on http://ethiopiansuicides.blogspot.com/
Monday, March 22, 2010
Thai Worker Dies from Palestinian Rocket Fire as Israeli Employers Neglect Workers’ Safety
March 20th, 2010
Israel News
On Thursday a 30-year-old Thai worker was killed from a Palestinian rocket that exploded in the Netiv HaAsara village in southern Israel. The rocket was launched by the Ansar al-Sunnah militant organization from the Gaza strip.
Tom Mehager of the Israeli migrant rights NGO Kav LaOved explained that workers have no choice but to work in unsafe areas, since their residency permit is tied to their employer. If the workers want to change jobs to move to a safer location, they lose their legal status. Because workers often have to pay over $8,000 to agents who secure the visa that allows them to enter Israel, the workers are left with no choice but to continue working in an unsafe environment.
Israel employs over 30,000 workers in the agricultural sector, most of whom are Thai workers. According to a Kav LaOved report from last October, migrant workers in this field are subjected to “wide and systematic exploitation” and face “complete abandonment by government authorities”.
Last year, The National reported about a group of Thai laborers who were forced to continue their work during the Gaza War, as their employer went to the bomb shelter with his dogs. The workers were also forced to work all week long on the farm, despite the fact that Israeli law obliges employers to give their workers 36 hours of rest per week. Mehager said that Thai workers, because of their isolation and lack of language skills, are especially ripe for exploitation.
Israel News
On Thursday a 30-year-old Thai worker was killed from a Palestinian rocket that exploded in the Netiv HaAsara village in southern Israel. The rocket was launched by the Ansar al-Sunnah militant organization from the Gaza strip.
Tom Mehager of the Israeli migrant rights NGO Kav LaOved explained that workers have no choice but to work in unsafe areas, since their residency permit is tied to their employer. If the workers want to change jobs to move to a safer location, they lose their legal status. Because workers often have to pay over $8,000 to agents who secure the visa that allows them to enter Israel, the workers are left with no choice but to continue working in an unsafe environment.
Israel employs over 30,000 workers in the agricultural sector, most of whom are Thai workers. According to a Kav LaOved report from last October, migrant workers in this field are subjected to “wide and systematic exploitation” and face “complete abandonment by government authorities”.
Last year, The National reported about a group of Thai laborers who were forced to continue their work during the Gaza War, as their employer went to the bomb shelter with his dogs. The workers were also forced to work all week long on the farm, despite the fact that Israeli law obliges employers to give their workers 36 hours of rest per week. Mehager said that Thai workers, because of their isolation and lack of language skills, are especially ripe for exploitation.
Human rights society wants racism reported
By Abdullah Al-Maqati
DHULUM – The National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) has urged the public to report any instances of racial discrimination directed at Saudi nationals or expatriates, and has called for studies into social problems that affect individual human rights such as favoritism, nepotism and tribalism.
“Everyone can help in preventing racism and promoting tolerance and moderation,” said Mufleh Al-Qahtani, the chairman of NSHR. “We need to work to cease categorizing people according to race, faith or color.”
King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, Al-Qahtani said, has played a significant role in establishing the principles of dialogue at home and abroad, “promoting tolerance regionally and internationally to help nations avoid devastating wars and instead turn to reason and peace”. – Okaz/SG
DHULUM – The National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) has urged the public to report any instances of racial discrimination directed at Saudi nationals or expatriates, and has called for studies into social problems that affect individual human rights such as favoritism, nepotism and tribalism.
“Everyone can help in preventing racism and promoting tolerance and moderation,” said Mufleh Al-Qahtani, the chairman of NSHR. “We need to work to cease categorizing people according to race, faith or color.”
King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, Al-Qahtani said, has played a significant role in establishing the principles of dialogue at home and abroad, “promoting tolerance regionally and internationally to help nations avoid devastating wars and instead turn to reason and peace”. – Okaz/SG
Friday, March 19, 2010
Jailed for mistreating maid
SOON after Peck Choon Khim hired a maid in 2008 to help take care of her two adopted children, she started hitting the Myanmar national.
The abuse continued for the next five months and on Friday, Peck, 41, was sentenced to four months' jail.
A district court heard she had mistreated Ms Moe Thandar Lin, on 15 occasions from November 2008. Ms Lin only complained to her agent, after Peck slammed a kettle of hot water against her left arm on March 15 last year.
The agent called the police who found the list of all the incidents listed in the maid's diary.
At the last hearing in January, Peck's lawyer Lim Kim Hong asked the court to be lenient to her client as the maid had been defiant and disrespectful from the very start. The maid was also no help in taking care of the children, aged 18 months and three years.
All the more reason for Peck to get a new maid, said District Judge Ronald Gwee. He added: 'The correct thing to do is to terminate her employment but in this case, there were repeated occasions of abuse. Physical punishment is not allowed. It's a line no employer should cross.'
The maximum sentence is a jail term of three years and a $7,500 fine on each of the four charges
The abuse continued for the next five months and on Friday, Peck, 41, was sentenced to four months' jail.
A district court heard she had mistreated Ms Moe Thandar Lin, on 15 occasions from November 2008. Ms Lin only complained to her agent, after Peck slammed a kettle of hot water against her left arm on March 15 last year.
The agent called the police who found the list of all the incidents listed in the maid's diary.
At the last hearing in January, Peck's lawyer Lim Kim Hong asked the court to be lenient to her client as the maid had been defiant and disrespectful from the very start. The maid was also no help in taking care of the children, aged 18 months and three years.
All the more reason for Peck to get a new maid, said District Judge Ronald Gwee. He added: 'The correct thing to do is to terminate her employment but in this case, there were repeated occasions of abuse. Physical punishment is not allowed. It's a line no employer should cross.'
The maximum sentence is a jail term of three years and a $7,500 fine on each of the four charges
Lankan betrays trust Fear of ouster
KUWAIT CITY, March 17 : Police are looking for an unidentified Sri Lankan for betrayal of trust, reports Arrouiah daily.
According to security sources the man works for a well-known businessman and he was given KD 9,600 to deposit in the company bank account. The man is said to have disappeared with the money.
Fear of ouster: Two Asian women who jumped from the second floor of a balcony to avoid arrest have been admitted to a hospital with injuries, reports Al-Anba daily.
The incident happened in Messilah when an inspector from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor was checking the documents of employees working for establishments in the area.
It has been reported the victims are residence law violators and they tried to escape to avoid deportation from the country
According to security sources the man works for a well-known businessman and he was given KD 9,600 to deposit in the company bank account. The man is said to have disappeared with the money.
Fear of ouster: Two Asian women who jumped from the second floor of a balcony to avoid arrest have been admitted to a hospital with injuries, reports Al-Anba daily.
The incident happened in Messilah when an inspector from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor was checking the documents of employees working for establishments in the area.
It has been reported the victims are residence law violators and they tried to escape to avoid deportation from the country
Filipina abducted from bus stop, raped
Kuwait : Police have arrested two youths — a Kuwaiti and a bedoun — for kidnapping and raping an unidentified Filipino woman, reports Al-Rai daily.
According to a complaint filed by the victim at a police station, she was waiting for a public transport bus. The youths drove by and offered to drive her to her destination. However, when she refused, one of the youths reportedly forced her into the vehicle and took her to a lonely place in Fahaheel and raped her successively.
Investigations conducted by police led to the arrest of the Kuwaiti. He later led police to his partner.
The ‘rapists’ have been referred to the concerned authorities.
According to a complaint filed by the victim at a police station, she was waiting for a public transport bus. The youths drove by and offered to drive her to her destination. However, when she refused, one of the youths reportedly forced her into the vehicle and took her to a lonely place in Fahaheel and raped her successively.
Investigations conducted by police led to the arrest of the Kuwaiti. He later led police to his partner.
The ‘rapists’ have been referred to the concerned authorities.
Filipina abducted from bus stop, raped
Kuwait : Police have arrested two youths — a Kuwaiti and a bedoun — for kidnapping and raping an unidentified Filipino woman, reports Al-Rai daily.
According to a complaint filed by the victim at a police station, she was waiting for a public transport bus. The youths drove by and offered to drive her to her destination. However, when she refused, one of the youths reportedly forced her into the vehicle and took her to a lonely place in Fahaheel and raped her successively.
Investigations conducted by police led to the arrest of the Kuwaiti. He later led police to his partner.
The ‘rapists’ have been referred to the concerned authorities.
According to a complaint filed by the victim at a police station, she was waiting for a public transport bus. The youths drove by and offered to drive her to her destination. However, when she refused, one of the youths reportedly forced her into the vehicle and took her to a lonely place in Fahaheel and raped her successively.
Investigations conducted by police led to the arrest of the Kuwaiti. He later led police to his partner.
The ‘rapists’ have been referred to the concerned authorities.
Migrants Center Mired in Turf War
A support center for migrant workers being set up in Incheon is triggering a turf war, setting their rights advocacy group against a consortium of an employers' lobby and a union group, which was selected to run the center.
The state-run Human Resources Development Service (HRD Korea) recently selected the Incheon Employers Federation (IEF) and the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) to manage support centers for immigrant workers in Incheon and Daegu, both opening this year, until 2012.
The consortium will be given around 500-600 million won per year in return for their services as operator.
However, migrant workers' advocates are up in arms, arguing that the two organizations have nothing to do with the welfare of foreign workers.
Lee Young, executive secretary of the Joint Committee for Migrant Workers in Korea (JCMK), said he couldn't understand the selection, saying that the consortium has no experience for the job it's been given.
"Though there are local organizations dedicated to helping migrant workers, HRD Korea chose the consortium of an employers' association and the FKTU," he said. "It is against the basic reason for an immigrant worker support center. It is like having the fox guard the henhouse."
Lee added that an association of small- and medium-sized enterprises once opposed the idea of migrant worker support centers for using the employment insurance fund. "It doesn't make sense that now the employers' organization wants to operate one," he said. "The IEF should instead open a center for employers to educate them on how to work with migrant workers properly."
He pointed out that the FKTU is not particularly interested in migrant workers' labor rights. HRD Korea said they chose the consortium because they wanted the groups to cooperate on the issue of assisting immigrant workers. "We have not confirmed the selection of operators yet. We will summon them next week and check on their plans," an HRD Korea official said.
Currently, there are five such centers nationwide in Seoul, Uijeongbu, Ansan, Gimhae and Masan. HRD Korea will open three more this year in Incheon, Daegu and Cheonan.
The state-run Human Resources Development Service (HRD Korea) recently selected the Incheon Employers Federation (IEF) and the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) to manage support centers for immigrant workers in Incheon and Daegu, both opening this year, until 2012.
The consortium will be given around 500-600 million won per year in return for their services as operator.
However, migrant workers' advocates are up in arms, arguing that the two organizations have nothing to do with the welfare of foreign workers.
Lee Young, executive secretary of the Joint Committee for Migrant Workers in Korea (JCMK), said he couldn't understand the selection, saying that the consortium has no experience for the job it's been given.
"Though there are local organizations dedicated to helping migrant workers, HRD Korea chose the consortium of an employers' association and the FKTU," he said. "It is against the basic reason for an immigrant worker support center. It is like having the fox guard the henhouse."
Lee added that an association of small- and medium-sized enterprises once opposed the idea of migrant worker support centers for using the employment insurance fund. "It doesn't make sense that now the employers' organization wants to operate one," he said. "The IEF should instead open a center for employers to educate them on how to work with migrant workers properly."
He pointed out that the FKTU is not particularly interested in migrant workers' labor rights. HRD Korea said they chose the consortium because they wanted the groups to cooperate on the issue of assisting immigrant workers. "We have not confirmed the selection of operators yet. We will summon them next week and check on their plans," an HRD Korea official said.
Currently, there are five such centers nationwide in Seoul, Uijeongbu, Ansan, Gimhae and Masan. HRD Korea will open three more this year in Incheon, Daegu and Cheonan.
Think Tank Calls for Redefinition of Diversity in Migrant Policies
A parliamentary think tank called on policymakers Monday to revisit the concept of diversity for effective policy measures, saying the term is so narrowly defined in the current law that it mainly refers to migrant workers or spouses.
To better cope with a more diverse forthcoming society, the National Assembly Research Service (NARS) stated that most policymakers have a bird's-eye view of the issue, arguing that a lack of a comprehensive framework is responsible for overlapping measures and budget squandering.
According to the Ministry of Public Administration and Security, approximately 900,000 foreigners lived in Korea in 2008, accounting for 1.8 percent of the entire population. About half of them were migrant workers.
The Korean Women's Development Institute forecast that the ratio of foreigners to the entire population will reach 2.8 percent this year and 5 percent by 2050.
In a report titled ``Implementation of Diversity-Related Measures and Policy Recommendations,'' NARS recommended that the government should establish policy measures for multiculturalism.
``The existing law dealing with diversity focuses on policy measures for specific target groups, such as migrant spouses and foreign workers and the children of bi-racial families. The lack of a comprehensive scheme for diversity contributes to squandering the budget and overlapping policies,'' the report said.
Under the proposed scheme, the think tank put forth a general law that addresses the definition of diversity, the principles and requirements of supportive policies, and a ban on discrimination based on race.
Currently, eight ministries, including the Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs, and the Ministry of Gender Equality, as well as local governments are responsible for policy measures for migrant spouses and children of multicultural families.
Those ministries sponsor Korean language programs and a variety of cultural exposure programs such as festivals to help about one million foreign nationals and migrant spouses living in Korea.
NARS experts said that these one-off measures have been ineffective in making Koreans more aware of diversity, adding that raising the public's awareness should be the primary focus of future policies.
They called on policymakers to respect cultural differences, saying this concern should be addressed in law.
``Policymakers need to be aware that migrant workers or spouses are not subjects who should be assimilated into this country but human beings who have different cultural standards,'' the report said.
To better cope with a more diverse forthcoming society, the National Assembly Research Service (NARS) stated that most policymakers have a bird's-eye view of the issue, arguing that a lack of a comprehensive framework is responsible for overlapping measures and budget squandering.
According to the Ministry of Public Administration and Security, approximately 900,000 foreigners lived in Korea in 2008, accounting for 1.8 percent of the entire population. About half of them were migrant workers.
The Korean Women's Development Institute forecast that the ratio of foreigners to the entire population will reach 2.8 percent this year and 5 percent by 2050.
In a report titled ``Implementation of Diversity-Related Measures and Policy Recommendations,'' NARS recommended that the government should establish policy measures for multiculturalism.
``The existing law dealing with diversity focuses on policy measures for specific target groups, such as migrant spouses and foreign workers and the children of bi-racial families. The lack of a comprehensive scheme for diversity contributes to squandering the budget and overlapping policies,'' the report said.
Under the proposed scheme, the think tank put forth a general law that addresses the definition of diversity, the principles and requirements of supportive policies, and a ban on discrimination based on race.
Currently, eight ministries, including the Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs, and the Ministry of Gender Equality, as well as local governments are responsible for policy measures for migrant spouses and children of multicultural families.
Those ministries sponsor Korean language programs and a variety of cultural exposure programs such as festivals to help about one million foreign nationals and migrant spouses living in Korea.
NARS experts said that these one-off measures have been ineffective in making Koreans more aware of diversity, adding that raising the public's awareness should be the primary focus of future policies.
They called on policymakers to respect cultural differences, saying this concern should be addressed in law.
``Policymakers need to be aware that migrant workers or spouses are not subjects who should be assimilated into this country but human beings who have different cultural standards,'' the report said.
Activists protest against abuse of migrant workers
On Feb. 15, the last day of the Lunar New Year holidays, police officers and immigration authorities raided a Nepali restaurant in Dongdaemun, northern Seoul, where 30 migrant workers were having a community meeting.
The crackdown, according to the Gyeonggi Provincial Police Agency, was aimed at breaking up an illegal gambling syndicate in the area. However, they could not find any evidence of gambling on the premises.
The officers divided the Nepali workers into two groups -- one staying here legally and the other staying illegally -- and arrested 10 undocumented workers immediately.
Despite police denial, no related rules on immigrant crackdown were abided by during the whole procedure, migrant workers' groups said at a press conference held yesterday.
"The police didn't follow the minimum rules such as informing them of their Miranda rights. Immigrant workers are one of the most vulnerable groups in Korea. We don't understand why the authorities treat them so harshly in the name of justice," said Rep. Lee Soo-ho of the minority Democratic Labor Party.
When the Korean authorities investigate migrant workers, regardless of whether they are documented or not, they must abide by a code of practices, which took effect in June last year. The guidelines are to be offered in 14 languages.
However, because the rules are an administrative order, not legally binding, migrant groups have pointed out that there is still a possibility of human rights abuses.
Under the rules, at least one female officer should join every crackdown in case of the arrest or body check of female foreigners.
However, no female officer accompanied the police squad when they arrested 10 Nepali workers, including one woman. Moreover, she was found later to be married to a Korean man and was released after three hours of false imprisonment.
"Hypocrites," said Michel, president of the Migrants' Trade Union, who asked not to be fully named. Assisted by Korean activists, the group helps migrant workers on legal and abuse issues.
"You (the Korean government) spend millions if not billions on advertising on how Korea is a multicultural society. ... But your policies are aimed to use our labor to feed your economy. Our rights do not matter to you," he said.
It has been four years since the 39-year-old Filipino factory worker came to Korea.
Despite its highly-publicized campaign for multiculturalism, nothing has changed in the government's treatment of migrant workers, he said. "Rather, the situation has never been worse."
"Back then when I first came here, undocumented workers also used to participate in our street marches. However, now, even those staying legally feel danger and fear about the government's repressive attitude," he said.
During the press conference held by some 20 activists in front of the Seodaemun Police Agency in central Seoul, scores of police officers were dispatched, with riot police buses blocking the participants from leaving the area.
"When an event for making rice-cake soup with migrant workers was held on one side, the police were cruelly clamping down on them on the other. It is just hypocrisy and barbarism," said a statement issued jointly by migrant workers' groups.
While no official comment came from the police, the groups submitted a complaint against the Gyeonggi Police, demanding an official apology as well as a thorough investigation into the crackdown.
(jylee@heraldm.com)
By Lee Ji-yoon
The crackdown, according to the Gyeonggi Provincial Police Agency, was aimed at breaking up an illegal gambling syndicate in the area. However, they could not find any evidence of gambling on the premises.
The officers divided the Nepali workers into two groups -- one staying here legally and the other staying illegally -- and arrested 10 undocumented workers immediately.
Despite police denial, no related rules on immigrant crackdown were abided by during the whole procedure, migrant workers' groups said at a press conference held yesterday.
"The police didn't follow the minimum rules such as informing them of their Miranda rights. Immigrant workers are one of the most vulnerable groups in Korea. We don't understand why the authorities treat them so harshly in the name of justice," said Rep. Lee Soo-ho of the minority Democratic Labor Party.
When the Korean authorities investigate migrant workers, regardless of whether they are documented or not, they must abide by a code of practices, which took effect in June last year. The guidelines are to be offered in 14 languages.
However, because the rules are an administrative order, not legally binding, migrant groups have pointed out that there is still a possibility of human rights abuses.
Under the rules, at least one female officer should join every crackdown in case of the arrest or body check of female foreigners.
However, no female officer accompanied the police squad when they arrested 10 Nepali workers, including one woman. Moreover, she was found later to be married to a Korean man and was released after three hours of false imprisonment.
"Hypocrites," said Michel, president of the Migrants' Trade Union, who asked not to be fully named. Assisted by Korean activists, the group helps migrant workers on legal and abuse issues.
"You (the Korean government) spend millions if not billions on advertising on how Korea is a multicultural society. ... But your policies are aimed to use our labor to feed your economy. Our rights do not matter to you," he said.
It has been four years since the 39-year-old Filipino factory worker came to Korea.
Despite its highly-publicized campaign for multiculturalism, nothing has changed in the government's treatment of migrant workers, he said. "Rather, the situation has never been worse."
"Back then when I first came here, undocumented workers also used to participate in our street marches. However, now, even those staying legally feel danger and fear about the government's repressive attitude," he said.
During the press conference held by some 20 activists in front of the Seodaemun Police Agency in central Seoul, scores of police officers were dispatched, with riot police buses blocking the participants from leaving the area.
"When an event for making rice-cake soup with migrant workers was held on one side, the police were cruelly clamping down on them on the other. It is just hypocrisy and barbarism," said a statement issued jointly by migrant workers' groups.
While no official comment came from the police, the groups submitted a complaint against the Gyeonggi Police, demanding an official apology as well as a thorough investigation into the crackdown.
(jylee@heraldm.com)
By Lee Ji-yoon
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
NSHR offers support to Asian maid in distress
By MUHAMMAD HUMAIDAN | ARAB NEWS
Published: Mar 15, 2010 00:32 Updated: Mar 15, 2010 13:18
JEDDAH: The National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) in Makkah province said its office in Taif was following up on the medical help being given to an Asian maid who was found tortured in the Shafa district of the city.
Hussein Al-Sharief, supervisor of the NSHR in Makkah province, said the woman was found undressed and that she had been burned with hot water and an iron. He added that she had also been beaten and was receiving treatment at King Abdul Aziz Specialist Hospital in Taif. “We are now in contact with the authorities. We will provide the woman with psychological and social support,” he said.
A number of websites have carried reports about the maid.
Arab News tried to contact Maj. Turki Al-Shahri, spokesman for Taif police, but failed to get any new information about the case.
Published: Mar 15, 2010 00:32 Updated: Mar 15, 2010 13:18
JEDDAH: The National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) in Makkah province said its office in Taif was following up on the medical help being given to an Asian maid who was found tortured in the Shafa district of the city.
Hussein Al-Sharief, supervisor of the NSHR in Makkah province, said the woman was found undressed and that she had been burned with hot water and an iron. He added that she had also been beaten and was receiving treatment at King Abdul Aziz Specialist Hospital in Taif. “We are now in contact with the authorities. We will provide the woman with psychological and social support,” he said.
A number of websites have carried reports about the maid.
Arab News tried to contact Maj. Turki Al-Shahri, spokesman for Taif police, but failed to get any new information about the case.
Women married to foreigners want equal rights
March 7, 2010 ⋅ 5:18 pm ⋅ Email This Article ⋅ Post a comment
Filed Under Lebanon, rights, women
Lebanese State minister Mona Ofeish who had followed the issue of women’s rights for over 25 years, asked :“How can a woman who has carried a baby in her womb for nine months, and then raised it, not have the right to give the baby her citizenship?”
When Rand Mnaimneh heard the Lebanese government might give “green cards,” or permanent residency status, to the families of Lebanese women married to non-Lebanese, she wasn’t even tempted, despite the suffering her family endures because her husband is Palestinian.
“The green card makes me feel like a refugee as well. It’s nothing. I’m against it,” she told The Times. “I am a citizen and I want my children to be citizens. They were born here; they are a part of me.”
Mnaimneh is Lebanese, and because Lebanese law prevents her from passing on her citizenship and her husband has none, their children will remain stateless, barred from public schools, hospitals, social services and — because they are Palestinian — certain skilled professions.
Lebanese men who marry foreign women, on the other hand, can obtain citizenship rights for their spouses and children with relative ease.
The proposal to grant green cards was introduced two weeks ago by lawmaker Nahmtallah Abi Nasr, a vocal opponent of granting women full citizenship rights. Abi Nasr, like most Lebanese politicians, opposes nationality reform on the grounds that allowing women to pass on their citizenship would upset the delicate sectarian balance that underpins Lebanon’s power-sharing system by opening the door to the naturalization of mostly Muslim Palestinians.
But a recent study showed only 22% of women married to foreigners are married to Palestinian men. About 400,000 Palestinians live as refugees in Lebanon.
The proposed law would grant spouses and children of Lebanese women permanent residency and access to public health and education while barring them from participating in politics or obtaining a passport. Although it would provide a measure of relief to some of the estimated 80,000 men, women and children affected by the current law, Lebanese women’s rights groups have come out strongly against it.
They fear that accepting a compromise now means giving up hope of real equality in the future.
“If the green card is issued, the nationality law will be dead,” said Nayla Madi Masri, who works for the National Committee for the Follow-Up on Women’s Issues. “In Lebanon, every ’short-term’ solution becomes long term.”
The committee recently sponsored a high-profile media campaign featuring famed television presenter George Kordahi lending support to its cause coinciding with the release of the first comprehensive study on the plight of Lebanese women who are married to non-Lebanese men, conducted by the committee with the United Nations.
The issue of citizenship has renewed urgency in light of security concerns stemming from the use of forged passports in the assassination of a Hamas leader in Dubai, with some Lebanese politicians calling for all holders of foreign passports, especially those issued by Western countries, to be treated “as potential spies.”
“I never thought it would get to this point,” said Sawsan Al Hajj, who is married to a Swiss man and whose daughter holds a Swiss passport.
Not everyone opposes the green card compromise. Rima, whose mother is Lebanese and who asked not to be quoted by her family name, said being allowed to live and work in Lebanon is more important to her than having the passport.
“I think this is a great compromise,” Rima, who carries a American passport, wrote in an e-mail to The Times. “It’s good enough for me.” LAT
Lebanese State minister Mona Ofeish who had followed the issue of women’s rights for over 25 years, asked :“How can a woman who has carried a baby in her womb for nine months, and then raised it, not have the right to give the baby her citizenship?”
Court Jails Three for Five Years for Human Trafficking Mary Nammour
13 March 2010 DUBAI - Two Uzbeks and an Iranian were each sentenced to five-year imprisonment for human trafficking on Thursday. The Court of First Instance also ordered the deportation of the trio after serving their prison terms.
Earlier when presiding Judge Hamad Abdel Latif Abdel Jawad read out the charges of human trafficking, one of the Uzbeks said he did not even know the women involved.
The Uzbeks, along with an Iranian business partner, forced two Uzbek sisters into prostitution by threat and beating. All defendants pleaded not guilty.
Three other suspects are still being sought by the authorities.
The men were caught on February 16 last year trying to sell the women to an undercover police officer.
Court records show that the two Uzbek sisters were brought to the UAE by two compatriot women on an assurance that they would work in a restaurant. However, they were picked up from the airport on December 29, 2008 and directly taken to an apartment where the Iranian defendant forced them into prostitution.
mary@khaleejtimes.com
Earlier when presiding Judge Hamad Abdel Latif Abdel Jawad read out the charges of human trafficking, one of the Uzbeks said he did not even know the women involved.
The Uzbeks, along with an Iranian business partner, forced two Uzbek sisters into prostitution by threat and beating. All defendants pleaded not guilty.
Three other suspects are still being sought by the authorities.
The men were caught on February 16 last year trying to sell the women to an undercover police officer.
Court records show that the two Uzbek sisters were brought to the UAE by two compatriot women on an assurance that they would work in a restaurant. However, they were picked up from the airport on December 29, 2008 and directly taken to an apartment where the Iranian defendant forced them into prostitution.
mary@khaleejtimes.com
One Million workers receive wages through WPS (WAM)
14 March 2010 Abu Dhabi - The number of workers receiving wages through the Wages Protection System (WPS) has exceeded to one million 500 thousand.
This includes one million 200 thousand workers targeted during the first phase of the system application.
The statistics of Labor Ministry show that more than three thousand frims converted their workers’ wages through WPS out of four thousand and 100 during the first phase. While the total number of firms is more than nine thousand.
The number of banks licensed to provide the service by the Central Bank have reached 53 and the number of foreign exchange firms to 22 besides four other companies providing the service.
His Excellency Saqr Gobash, Minister of Labor, said: ‘ I am satisfied with the performance of the system, stressing that the results achieved so far reflect the right direction of the ministry, which aims to regulate the labor market and provide a safe and effective working environment through the creation of innovative solutions to ensure the rights of workers and take into account the interests of the owners at the same time’.
He called firms that have not yet registered in the system to expedite the transfer of their worker’s wages through WPS before the deadline as stated in the Ministerial Decision No. / 788 / for the year 2009.
The number of firms who have been suspended for missing their workers’ wages by transferring them through WPS during the first phase is 800.
The Ministry has agreed to extend the deadline for 300 firms who earlier found delayed the transfer of wages within the dates specified, after obtaining concrete evidences that they have given their workers’ wages through traditional ways.
WPS is an initiative to safeguard payment of workers’ wages via transfers through selected financial institutions, that will be authorised as well as regulated by the government. This initiative greatly enhances the Ministry of Labor’s ability to implement preventive measures to reduce labour disputes pertaining to wages and offer solutions that will guard workers and employers against keeping large amount of cash at work places.
This includes one million 200 thousand workers targeted during the first phase of the system application.
The statistics of Labor Ministry show that more than three thousand frims converted their workers’ wages through WPS out of four thousand and 100 during the first phase. While the total number of firms is more than nine thousand.
The number of banks licensed to provide the service by the Central Bank have reached 53 and the number of foreign exchange firms to 22 besides four other companies providing the service.
His Excellency Saqr Gobash, Minister of Labor, said: ‘ I am satisfied with the performance of the system, stressing that the results achieved so far reflect the right direction of the ministry, which aims to regulate the labor market and provide a safe and effective working environment through the creation of innovative solutions to ensure the rights of workers and take into account the interests of the owners at the same time’.
He called firms that have not yet registered in the system to expedite the transfer of their worker’s wages through WPS before the deadline as stated in the Ministerial Decision No. / 788 / for the year 2009.
The number of firms who have been suspended for missing their workers’ wages by transferring them through WPS during the first phase is 800.
The Ministry has agreed to extend the deadline for 300 firms who earlier found delayed the transfer of wages within the dates specified, after obtaining concrete evidences that they have given their workers’ wages through traditional ways.
WPS is an initiative to safeguard payment of workers’ wages via transfers through selected financial institutions, that will be authorised as well as regulated by the government. This initiative greatly enhances the Ministry of Labor’s ability to implement preventive measures to reduce labour disputes pertaining to wages and offer solutions that will guard workers and employers against keeping large amount of cash at work places.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Sex with dog;
Kuwait : The Firdous police have arrested an Asian cleaning company worker for mating with a female dog in the parking lot at an unidentified location, reports Al-Watan Arabic daily.
The man was caught by a police patrol during routine duty in the area. It has been reported the man was so engrossed in sex he did not even know that a cop was standing by his side.
The man was taken to a police station and the company mandoub reportedly got him released after giving an undertaking that the man will be deported from the country.
The man was caught by a police patrol during routine duty in the area. It has been reported the man was so engrossed in sex he did not even know that a cop was standing by his side.
The man was taken to a police station and the company mandoub reportedly got him released after giving an undertaking that the man will be deported from the country.
Run away maid held:
Securitymen have arrested an expatriate woman, in her 20s, for absconding from her sponsor.
While on routine duty on the Arabian Gulf Street, the securitymen noticed the suspicious behavior of the woman and asked for her identification documents. Police discovered she ran away from her sponsor, so they referred her to the concerned authorities for the necessary legal action.
While on routine duty on the Arabian Gulf Street, the securitymen noticed the suspicious behavior of the woman and asked for her identification documents. Police discovered she ran away from her sponsor, so they referred her to the concerned authorities for the necessary legal action.
Cops rape 3 ladies in custody
KUWAIT CITY : Two securitymen employed at the Immigration Department have allegedly raped three women - two Filipinas and an Ethiopian.
According to security sources, the suspects arrested the three women, who had been accused of running away from their sponsors. The women were detained at the department.
On Tuesday, the other police officers heard the women screaming for help. When asked about the commotion, the women told police the suspects — with the ranks of Sergeant Major and First Sergeant — raped them Monday night.
A case was registered against the suspects who, along with the women, were referred to the Criminal Evidences Department for interrogation
According to security sources, the suspects arrested the three women, who had been accused of running away from their sponsors. The women were detained at the department.
On Tuesday, the other police officers heard the women screaming for help. When asked about the commotion, the women told police the suspects — with the ranks of Sergeant Major and First Sergeant — raped them Monday night.
A case was registered against the suspects who, along with the women, were referred to the Criminal Evidences Department for interrogation
Nepali Maid abducted, sold by Taxi driver; Brotherly love proves dear
Farwaniya securitymen arrested an Asian taxi driver for kidnapping a Nepali housemaid in Firdous and selling her to pimps in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh area, reports Al-Rai daily.
Police received a call from a woman saying her Nepali friend had been kidnapped and she gave information which led to the arrest of the taxi driver. Subsequently, police raided a vice-den in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh, arrested some Asian pimps and freed the kidnapped victims.
Police received a call from a woman saying her Nepali friend had been kidnapped and she gave information which led to the arrest of the taxi driver. Subsequently, police raided a vice-den in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh, arrested some Asian pimps and freed the kidnapped victims.
Two boys attempt to rape Filipina maid after seeing porn film together
KUWAIT CITY, Oct 24: Police have arrested two juveniles who attempted to rape a Filipina housemaid, reports Al-Watan Arabic daily.
Security sources said one of the minors took advantage of the absence of his family and invited a friend over to share a pornographic film. The two juveniles began to exercise what they watched and went on to molest the maid, who screamed for help and managed to run to the street.
Meanwhile, securitymen rushed to the house and seized the two juveniles, who were referred to authorities
Security sources said one of the minors took advantage of the absence of his family and invited a friend over to share a pornographic film. The two juveniles began to exercise what they watched and went on to molest the maid, who screamed for help and managed to run to the street.
Meanwhile, securitymen rushed to the house and seized the two juveniles, who were referred to authorities
Porn CDs, liquor found with Bangladeshi man and Srilankan woman at checkpoint
Kuwait : Police have arrested a couple — a Bangladeshi man and a Sri Lankan woman — for possessing porno CDs and three bottles of local booze, reports Al-Watan Arabic daily.
The couple was arrested at a police check point in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh.
The couple was arrested at a police check point in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh.
7 women detained:
Police have arrested seven women, whose nationalities have not been disclosed, for indulging in immoral activities. They were arrested inside an apartment in Hawalli, reports Al-Rai daily.
The daily quoting security sources said the police acting on information sent an undercover agent and then raided the apartment.
During interrogation all the women who were in the apartment at the time are said to have admitted to their involvement in prostitution.
The women have been referred to the Criminal Investigation Department.
The daily quoting security sources said the police acting on information sent an undercover agent and then raided the apartment.
During interrogation all the women who were in the apartment at the time are said to have admitted to their involvement in prostitution.
The women have been referred to the Criminal Investigation Department.
Asian beaten for not washing car
KUWAIT CITY, Oct 10: An Asian expatriate accused his sponsor of physically assaulting him for not washing his car.
In a case registered at the Sulaibiya police station, the expatriate told security officers that he sustained several injuries after the sponsor attacked him. The Asian also brought a medical report from the hospital to support his claims.
Security officers recorded details of the incident and investigations are on to summon the accused for questioning.
In a case registered at the Sulaibiya police station, the expatriate told security officers that he sustained several injuries after the sponsor attacked him. The Asian also brought a medical report from the hospital to support his claims.
Security officers recorded details of the incident and investigations are on to summon the accused for questioning.
No sponsor transfer requests processed
Unmarried men continue to face housing discrimination
Following is the second and last part of the ‘Report on Human Rights Practices’ on Kuwait issued by the US State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Thursday evening. The first part was published in Saturday’s issue.
The resolution excludes domestic workers, public sector workers, and foreign workers involved in finance management, thereby applying to approximately two-thirds of the country's two million foreign workers. At year's end the MOSAL had not processed any sponsor transfer requests.
The Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be found at www.state.gov/g/tip.
Persons with Disabilities
The law prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities and imposes penalties against employers who refrain from hiring persons with disabilities without reasonable cause. The law also mandates access to buildings for persons with disabilities. The government generally enforced these provisions. There were no specific reports of discrimination against persons with disabilities; however, noncitizens with disabilities did not have access to government-operated facilities or receive stipends paid to citizens with disabilities, which covered transportation, housing, job training, and social welfare.
Representatives from ministries, other governmental bodies, Kuwait University, and several NGOs constituted the government's Higher Council for Handicapped Affairs, which made policy recommendations, provided financial aid to persons with disabilities, and facilitated the integration of such persons into schools, jobs, and other social institutions. The government supervised and contributed to schools and job and training programs that catered to persons with special needs.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
Homosexuality and cross-dressing are illegal. The law punishes homosexual behavior between men older than 21 with imprisonment of up to seven years; those engaging in homosexual activity with men younger than 21 may be imprisoned for as long as 10 years. In 2007 the National Assembly approved a law to impose a fine of 1,059 dinars ($3,690) and/or one year's imprisonment for those imitating the appearance of the opposite sex in public. There are no laws that criminalize sexual behavior between women.
During the year there were more than a dozen reports of police arresting transgender persons at malls and markets, taking them into custody, beating them and shaving their heads, and then releasing them without charges. For example, on March 10, MOI Criminal Investigations Division officers raided a cafe, arresting five men for cross-dressing.
There were no official NGOs focused on lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender matters. Societal discrimination based on sexual orientation was common; official discrimination was less so. There was no government response to either.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination
There was no reported societal violence or discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Unmarried men continued to face housing discrimination based solely on marital status. Although the law prohibits single men from obtaining accommodation in many urban residential areas, at year's end the government had not fulfilled a plan to construct housing for them on the outskirts of the capital.
Section 7 Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association
With the exceptions of the country's approximately 560,000 domestic servants and an unknown number of maritime employees, the law provides that workers have the restricted right to join unions without previous authorization. Although 1.5 million foreign workers who are not domestic workers can join unions, they cannot run or vote in board elections. An estimated 100,000 persons, or 5 percent, of a total workforce of two million were organized into unions, mostly in the public sector or petroleum industry. The law empowers the government to interfere significantly in union activities, including the right to strike; however, the government did not impede strikes. To hold a legal strike, a union must obtain permission from the MOI, which did not grant permission for any of the strikes that took place during the year.
The government restricts the right of freedom of association to only one union per occupational trade and permits only one federation, the Kuwait Trade Union Federation (KTUF), which comprises 15 of the 47 licensed unions. Some workers were dissatisfied with the KTUF and instead joined the unlicensed National Trade Union Federation. The law stipulates that any new union must include at least 100 workers, 15 of them citizens. Both the International Labor Organization and the International Trade Union Confederation criticized this requirement because it discourages unions in sectors that employ few citizens, such as the construction industry and much of the private sector.
The government essentially treated licensed unions as parastatal organizations, providing as much as 90 percent of their budgets and inspecting financial records. Union leaders and board members are elected by the union members, who are citizens. It is prohibited for unions to discuss political, religious, or sectarian issues. The law empowers the courts to dissolve any union for violating labor laws or for threatening "public order and morals," although such a court decision may be appealed. The MOSAL can request the dissolution of a union through the Court of First Instance. The Amir also may dissolve a union by decree. No union was dissolved during the year. The government denied several public sector and oil sector unions' applications for official recognition during the year on the grounds that the law does not allow for more than one union to represent the same profession or organization.
The law denies domestic servants (one-third of the noncitizen workforce) and maritime employees the right to associate and organize. It also discriminates against more than one million other foreign workers by denying them union voting rights, barring them from leadership positions, and permitting them to join unions only after five years of residence, although the KTUF stated that this last requirement was not widely enforced in practice. During the year, for the first time, the KTUF worked to promote the rights of noncitizen workers, cooperating with the Embassy of Pakistan to settle the labor disputes of several Pakistani workers in the country.The law limits the right of workers, especially noncitizens, to strike. Most labor disputes are resolved in compulsory negotiations; if not, either party may petition the MOSAL for mediation. If mediation fails the dispute is referred to a labor arbitration board composed of officials from the Court of Appeals, the Attorney General's Office, and the MOSAL. The law does not contain any provision ensuring protecting strikers from legal or administrative action taken against them by the government. Employers generally try to settle disputes with workers themselves to retain them.
Foreign workers went on strike several times during the year. Most striking workers were employees of cleaning and security companies who claimed they had not received their salaries. In these instances the MOSAL responded by attempting to negotiate a settlement between the workers and the employers.
On April 26, more than 300 cleaning and security company workers staged a strike, claiming they had not received their salaries for four months. The MOSAL summoned the owner of the company and made him pay all late wages.
On July 19, an estimated 120 cleaning workers gathered in front of the Capital Labor Department, claiming they had not received their salaries for more than six months and their company had not renewed their residencies. The MOSAL summoned the owner of the company and made him pay all late wages.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
The law provides workers, with the exceptions of domestic servants, maritime workers, and civil servants, with the right to bargain collectively, subject to certain restrictions; the government generally respected in practice the rights of those workers covered by the law. Collective agreements covered approximately 70 percent of the labor force. There are no restrictions on collective bargaining. There is no minimum number of workers needed for such agreements.
The law prohibits antiunion discrimination and employer interference with union functions, and the government generally protected those rights. Any worker alleging antiunion discrimination has the right to appeal to the judiciary. Employers found guilty of such discrimination must reinstate workers fired for union activities. There were no reports of discrimination against employees based on their affiliation with a union. There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
The law prohibits forced or compulsory labor, including by children, "except in cases specified by law for national emergency and with just remuneration"; however, there were reports that such practices occurred. Domestic servitude and forced prostitution were the most common types of forced labor.
Some foreign domestic workers, often trafficked, were victims of forced labor. Physical or sexual abuse of female domestic workers was a serious problem, and police and courts took action against employers when presented with evidence of serious abuse.
There were frequent reports of domestic workers allegedly committing or attempting suicide because of desperation over poor working conditions or abuse. For example, on August 16, a Sri Lankan domestic employee sustained injuries after a failed attempt to commit suicide by jumping from a roof. She alleged that her employer had punished her by pouring boiling oil on her and making her stand on the roof. Authorities took the employee to the hospital and questioned her employer.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment
The law prohibits child labor; however, there were credible reports of underage workers, including domestic servants.
The legal minimum age for employment is 18; however, employers may obtain permits from the MOSAL to employ juveniles between the ages of 14 and 18 in nonhazardous trades. Juveniles may work a maximum of six hours a day on the condition that they work no more than four consecutive hours followed by a one-hour rest period.
There were reports that some children were trafficked to the country to provide domestic labor, and some underage workers reportedly falsified their ages to enter the country. There were few reports of underage Asian girls working as domestic servants after entering the country on false travel documents obtained in source countries. Approximately 300 inspectors from the Labor Inspection Department monitored private firms routinely for labor law compliance, including laws against child labor. Noncompliant employers were fined or their company operations were suspended.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
The public sector minimum wage for citizens was 217 dinars ($756) per month, and the public sector noncitizen wage was 97 dinars ($338). The public sector minimum wage provided a decent standard of living for a citizen worker and family. There was no legal minimum wage in the private sector, except for those domestic workers who had signed contracts in 2006 who received at least 40 dinars ($140) per month. The MOSAL implemented the minimum wage effectively by requiring companies to provide a monthly wage report with supporting documents.
The law establishes general conditions of work for the private sector. The law limits the standard workweek to 48 hours (40 hours for the petroleum industry) with one full day of rest per week and one hour of rest after every five consecutive hours of work. These standards were not well enforced, and domestic servants and other unskilled foreign workers in the private sector frequently worked in excess of 48 hours a week, often with no day of rest. Workers submitted complaints to the MOSAL's Labor Disputes Department.
The government issued occupational health and safety standards; however, compliance and enforcement by the MOSAL appeared poor, especially with respect to unskilled foreign laborers. A September MOSAL report stated that in the previous 12 months approximately 20,000 industrial and commercial firms had negligently violated professional safety standards and that 3,313 workers were injured on the job. To decrease accident rates, the government periodically inspected enterprises to raise awareness among workers and employers and to ensure that they abided by safety rules, controlled pollution resulting from certain industries, trained workers to use machines, and reported violations. Workers have the right to remove themselves from dangerous work situations without jeopardizing their continued employment, and legal protection existed for both citizen and foreign workers who filed complaints about such conditions.
In past years government attention to worker safety issues was limited, resulting in poor training of inspectors, inadequate injury reports, and no link between insurance payments and accident reports. No such cases were reported during the year.
The law provides that all outdoor work stop between noon and 4:00 p.m. during the months of June, July, and August or when the temperature rises to 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit) in the shade. The MOSAL monitored work sites to ensure compliance with these rules. There were no reports of violations during the year.
Unmarried men continue to face housing discrimination
Following is the second and last part of the ‘Report on Human Rights Practices’ on Kuwait issued by the US State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Thursday evening. The first part was published in Saturday’s issue.
The resolution excludes domestic workers, public sector workers, and foreign workers involved in finance management, thereby applying to approximately two-thirds of the country's two million foreign workers. At year's end the MOSAL had not processed any sponsor transfer requests.
The Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be found at www.state.gov/g/tip.
Persons with Disabilities
The law prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities and imposes penalties against employers who refrain from hiring persons with disabilities without reasonable cause. The law also mandates access to buildings for persons with disabilities. The government generally enforced these provisions. There were no specific reports of discrimination against persons with disabilities; however, noncitizens with disabilities did not have access to government-operated facilities or receive stipends paid to citizens with disabilities, which covered transportation, housing, job training, and social welfare.
Representatives from ministries, other governmental bodies, Kuwait University, and several NGOs constituted the government's Higher Council for Handicapped Affairs, which made policy recommendations, provided financial aid to persons with disabilities, and facilitated the integration of such persons into schools, jobs, and other social institutions. The government supervised and contributed to schools and job and training programs that catered to persons with special needs.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
Homosexuality and cross-dressing are illegal. The law punishes homosexual behavior between men older than 21 with imprisonment of up to seven years; those engaging in homosexual activity with men younger than 21 may be imprisoned for as long as 10 years. In 2007 the National Assembly approved a law to impose a fine of 1,059 dinars ($3,690) and/or one year's imprisonment for those imitating the appearance of the opposite sex in public. There are no laws that criminalize sexual behavior between women.
During the year there were more than a dozen reports of police arresting transgender persons at malls and markets, taking them into custody, beating them and shaving their heads, and then releasing them without charges. For example, on March 10, MOI Criminal Investigations Division officers raided a cafe, arresting five men for cross-dressing.
There were no official NGOs focused on lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender matters. Societal discrimination based on sexual orientation was common; official discrimination was less so. There was no government response to either.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination
There was no reported societal violence or discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Unmarried men continued to face housing discrimination based solely on marital status. Although the law prohibits single men from obtaining accommodation in many urban residential areas, at year's end the government had not fulfilled a plan to construct housing for them on the outskirts of the capital.
Section 7 Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association
With the exceptions of the country's approximately 560,000 domestic servants and an unknown number of maritime employees, the law provides that workers have the restricted right to join unions without previous authorization. Although 1.5 million foreign workers who are not domestic workers can join unions, they cannot run or vote in board elections. An estimated 100,000 persons, or 5 percent, of a total workforce of two million were organized into unions, mostly in the public sector or petroleum industry. The law empowers the government to interfere significantly in union activities, including the right to strike; however, the government did not impede strikes. To hold a legal strike, a union must obtain permission from the MOI, which did not grant permission for any of the strikes that took place during the year.
The government restricts the right of freedom of association to only one union per occupational trade and permits only one federation, the Kuwait Trade Union Federation (KTUF), which comprises 15 of the 47 licensed unions. Some workers were dissatisfied with the KTUF and instead joined the unlicensed National Trade Union Federation. The law stipulates that any new union must include at least 100 workers, 15 of them citizens. Both the International Labor Organization and the International Trade Union Confederation criticized this requirement because it discourages unions in sectors that employ few citizens, such as the construction industry and much of the private sector.
The government essentially treated licensed unions as parastatal organizations, providing as much as 90 percent of their budgets and inspecting financial records. Union leaders and board members are elected by the union members, who are citizens. It is prohibited for unions to discuss political, religious, or sectarian issues. The law empowers the courts to dissolve any union for violating labor laws or for threatening "public order and morals," although such a court decision may be appealed. The MOSAL can request the dissolution of a union through the Court of First Instance. The Amir also may dissolve a union by decree. No union was dissolved during the year. The government denied several public sector and oil sector unions' applications for official recognition during the year on the grounds that the law does not allow for more than one union to represent the same profession or organization.
The law denies domestic servants (one-third of the noncitizen workforce) and maritime employees the right to associate and organize. It also discriminates against more than one million other foreign workers by denying them union voting rights, barring them from leadership positions, and permitting them to join unions only after five years of residence, although the KTUF stated that this last requirement was not widely enforced in practice. During the year, for the first time, the KTUF worked to promote the rights of noncitizen workers, cooperating with the Embassy of Pakistan to settle the labor disputes of several Pakistani workers in the country.The law limits the right of workers, especially noncitizens, to strike. Most labor disputes are resolved in compulsory negotiations; if not, either party may petition the MOSAL for mediation. If mediation fails the dispute is referred to a labor arbitration board composed of officials from the Court of Appeals, the Attorney General's Office, and the MOSAL. The law does not contain any provision ensuring protecting strikers from legal or administrative action taken against them by the government. Employers generally try to settle disputes with workers themselves to retain them.
Foreign workers went on strike several times during the year. Most striking workers were employees of cleaning and security companies who claimed they had not received their salaries. In these instances the MOSAL responded by attempting to negotiate a settlement between the workers and the employers.
On April 26, more than 300 cleaning and security company workers staged a strike, claiming they had not received their salaries for four months. The MOSAL summoned the owner of the company and made him pay all late wages.
On July 19, an estimated 120 cleaning workers gathered in front of the Capital Labor Department, claiming they had not received their salaries for more than six months and their company had not renewed their residencies. The MOSAL summoned the owner of the company and made him pay all late wages.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
The law provides workers, with the exceptions of domestic servants, maritime workers, and civil servants, with the right to bargain collectively, subject to certain restrictions; the government generally respected in practice the rights of those workers covered by the law. Collective agreements covered approximately 70 percent of the labor force. There are no restrictions on collective bargaining. There is no minimum number of workers needed for such agreements.
The law prohibits antiunion discrimination and employer interference with union functions, and the government generally protected those rights. Any worker alleging antiunion discrimination has the right to appeal to the judiciary. Employers found guilty of such discrimination must reinstate workers fired for union activities. There were no reports of discrimination against employees based on their affiliation with a union. There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
The law prohibits forced or compulsory labor, including by children, "except in cases specified by law for national emergency and with just remuneration"; however, there were reports that such practices occurred. Domestic servitude and forced prostitution were the most common types of forced labor.
Some foreign domestic workers, often trafficked, were victims of forced labor. Physical or sexual abuse of female domestic workers was a serious problem, and police and courts took action against employers when presented with evidence of serious abuse.
There were frequent reports of domestic workers allegedly committing or attempting suicide because of desperation over poor working conditions or abuse. For example, on August 16, a Sri Lankan domestic employee sustained injuries after a failed attempt to commit suicide by jumping from a roof. She alleged that her employer had punished her by pouring boiling oil on her and making her stand on the roof. Authorities took the employee to the hospital and questioned her employer.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment
The law prohibits child labor; however, there were credible reports of underage workers, including domestic servants.
The legal minimum age for employment is 18; however, employers may obtain permits from the MOSAL to employ juveniles between the ages of 14 and 18 in nonhazardous trades. Juveniles may work a maximum of six hours a day on the condition that they work no more than four consecutive hours followed by a one-hour rest period.
There were reports that some children were trafficked to the country to provide domestic labor, and some underage workers reportedly falsified their ages to enter the country. There were few reports of underage Asian girls working as domestic servants after entering the country on false travel documents obtained in source countries. Approximately 300 inspectors from the Labor Inspection Department monitored private firms routinely for labor law compliance, including laws against child labor. Noncompliant employers were fined or their company operations were suspended.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
The public sector minimum wage for citizens was 217 dinars ($756) per month, and the public sector noncitizen wage was 97 dinars ($338). The public sector minimum wage provided a decent standard of living for a citizen worker and family. There was no legal minimum wage in the private sector, except for those domestic workers who had signed contracts in 2006 who received at least 40 dinars ($140) per month. The MOSAL implemented the minimum wage effectively by requiring companies to provide a monthly wage report with supporting documents.
The law establishes general conditions of work for the private sector. The law limits the standard workweek to 48 hours (40 hours for the petroleum industry) with one full day of rest per week and one hour of rest after every five consecutive hours of work. These standards were not well enforced, and domestic servants and other unskilled foreign workers in the private sector frequently worked in excess of 48 hours a week, often with no day of rest. Workers submitted complaints to the MOSAL's Labor Disputes Department.
The government issued occupational health and safety standards; however, compliance and enforcement by the MOSAL appeared poor, especially with respect to unskilled foreign laborers. A September MOSAL report stated that in the previous 12 months approximately 20,000 industrial and commercial firms had negligently violated professional safety standards and that 3,313 workers were injured on the job. To decrease accident rates, the government periodically inspected enterprises to raise awareness among workers and employers and to ensure that they abided by safety rules, controlled pollution resulting from certain industries, trained workers to use machines, and reported violations. Workers have the right to remove themselves from dangerous work situations without jeopardizing their continued employment, and legal protection existed for both citizen and foreign workers who filed complaints about such conditions.
In past years government attention to worker safety issues was limited, resulting in poor training of inspectors, inadequate injury reports, and no link between insurance payments and accident reports. No such cases were reported during the year.
The law provides that all outdoor work stop between noon and 4:00 p.m. during the months of June, July, and August or when the temperature rises to 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit) in the shade. The MOSAL monitored work sites to ensure compliance with these rules. There were no reports of violations during the year.
New labor law becomes … law
KUWAIT CITY, Feb 21: The new Kuwait labor law has become law after being published in the official Kuwait Gazette on Feb 21 relieving expatriates and renewing their hope of a better future working in the country.
The law, which has updated provisions regarding salary, public holidays, paid leave, sick leave as well as end of service payments deemed suitable for employees and their employers, was approved by the National Assembly last year and was sent to the Kuwait Cabinet before being sent to His Highness the Amir for endorsement.
Expatriates in Kuwait expressed a positive outlook to the Arab Times saying that their rights should now finally be fully-considered by employers. “This is an excellent initiative by the government of Kuwait in order to protect the rights of the expatriate community in Kuwait, however, it still remains to be seen if the law will be fully implemented, which is equally important,” says Sidiq Valayakath who is President of the Federation of Indian Muslim Associations (FIMA).
Valayakath added that this initiative still does not include the rights of domestic workers who make a large portion of the working community in Kuwait. “It is our desire that domestic workers are not overlooked as well. The provisions that I believe will have the most impact are the provisions on annual leave and payment of salary,” he said.
The new labor law mandates that salaries of all employees be sent to banks before the 7th of each month. It also allows employees paid leave on all official holidays, a day off every week, and 30 days of annual leave even during the first year of work. Article 76 grants 21 days paid Hajj pilgrimage leave to an employee who has spent two consecutive years in service under the same employer and has never performed the Hajj pilgrimage previously.
Leave must also be granted to the employees on all the 13 days of public holidays and if workers are made to work on public holidays, they must be given a bonus of half-a-day’s salary in addition to a full day’s pay.
Furthermore, a worker is entitled to 40 days of paid sick leave, with full pay for the first 10 days, 75 percent pay for the next 10 days, 50 percent pay for the following 10 days and 25 percent pay for the last 10 days. An employee is entitled up to 30 days of unpaid sick leave if all his/her paid sick leaves are used up.
According to article 51 of the labor law, a worker will get complete end-of-service compensation at the end of the contract period. The employee is entitled to full indemnity if the contract is terminated by the employer, or the employment contract ends without being renewed. A female employee can get full indemnity if she terminates the contract from her side due to marriage within a year from her marriage date.
“This is very good news for us as expatriates in Kuwait as this new law has made us believe that Kuwait has become more concerned with our basic rights as workers like a lot of other developed countries around the world which is what we everyone in living in a foreign country should expect. I am especially relieved about the end of service indemnity provisions so now I can work hard knowing I will be taken care of,” said Rasha Goma, an Egyptian female working at the North Africa Holding Company in Kuwait.
Article 53 states that the employee is entitled to half month’s salary for every year if the employee resigns after more than three years and less than five years in the service. If the employee resigns after five years but less than ten years of service, he is entitled to 75 percent of the monthly salary for every year. Beyond 10 years, the employee gets a full month’s salary as compensation for every year of service.
Other provisions include rights of employed women including article 22, which prohibits the employment of women from 10 pm to 7 am except those who work in treatment homes or other institutions specified in a decision issued by the Minister of Social Affairs and Labor.
Amna Al-Jaray, Action Global Communications country manager said that what has always concerned her was the period of maternity leave available; “Previously I was allowed 40 days maternity leave and had to include with it my 30 days annual leave. I worked for a full year without leave because I’ve used up my holiday for the maternity period.”
Under the new labor law, pregnant women can now take a paid leave of 70 days as long as they give birth within this period of time. New mothers can also be granted an unpaid leave of four months and the law also prohibits employers from dismissing female workers during this period. An employer is also obliged to establish a day care center for children below four years of age if more than 50 women or 200 men work in the establishment.
Employees who meet with accidents on the job or on their way to and from work must receive full salaries throughout the recovering period slated by a physician. If this period exceeds six months, then the employer pays half the salary until the injured employee recovers, dies or his/her handicap is confirmed.
Regarding employee termination, the new law says that the employer must give a notice of three months and no worker can be terminated while on leave. The notice period for an employee to resign his or her job is also three months. The law also prohibits employers from firing workers without a reason, as a result of activities in NGOs or because they demanded their rights.
The law, which has updated provisions regarding salary, public holidays, paid leave, sick leave as well as end of service payments deemed suitable for employees and their employers, was approved by the National Assembly last year and was sent to the Kuwait Cabinet before being sent to His Highness the Amir for endorsement.
Expatriates in Kuwait expressed a positive outlook to the Arab Times saying that their rights should now finally be fully-considered by employers. “This is an excellent initiative by the government of Kuwait in order to protect the rights of the expatriate community in Kuwait, however, it still remains to be seen if the law will be fully implemented, which is equally important,” says Sidiq Valayakath who is President of the Federation of Indian Muslim Associations (FIMA).
Valayakath added that this initiative still does not include the rights of domestic workers who make a large portion of the working community in Kuwait. “It is our desire that domestic workers are not overlooked as well. The provisions that I believe will have the most impact are the provisions on annual leave and payment of salary,” he said.
The new labor law mandates that salaries of all employees be sent to banks before the 7th of each month. It also allows employees paid leave on all official holidays, a day off every week, and 30 days of annual leave even during the first year of work. Article 76 grants 21 days paid Hajj pilgrimage leave to an employee who has spent two consecutive years in service under the same employer and has never performed the Hajj pilgrimage previously.
Leave must also be granted to the employees on all the 13 days of public holidays and if workers are made to work on public holidays, they must be given a bonus of half-a-day’s salary in addition to a full day’s pay.
Furthermore, a worker is entitled to 40 days of paid sick leave, with full pay for the first 10 days, 75 percent pay for the next 10 days, 50 percent pay for the following 10 days and 25 percent pay for the last 10 days. An employee is entitled up to 30 days of unpaid sick leave if all his/her paid sick leaves are used up.
According to article 51 of the labor law, a worker will get complete end-of-service compensation at the end of the contract period. The employee is entitled to full indemnity if the contract is terminated by the employer, or the employment contract ends without being renewed. A female employee can get full indemnity if she terminates the contract from her side due to marriage within a year from her marriage date.
“This is very good news for us as expatriates in Kuwait as this new law has made us believe that Kuwait has become more concerned with our basic rights as workers like a lot of other developed countries around the world which is what we everyone in living in a foreign country should expect. I am especially relieved about the end of service indemnity provisions so now I can work hard knowing I will be taken care of,” said Rasha Goma, an Egyptian female working at the North Africa Holding Company in Kuwait.
Article 53 states that the employee is entitled to half month’s salary for every year if the employee resigns after more than three years and less than five years in the service. If the employee resigns after five years but less than ten years of service, he is entitled to 75 percent of the monthly salary for every year. Beyond 10 years, the employee gets a full month’s salary as compensation for every year of service.
Other provisions include rights of employed women including article 22, which prohibits the employment of women from 10 pm to 7 am except those who work in treatment homes or other institutions specified in a decision issued by the Minister of Social Affairs and Labor.
Amna Al-Jaray, Action Global Communications country manager said that what has always concerned her was the period of maternity leave available; “Previously I was allowed 40 days maternity leave and had to include with it my 30 days annual leave. I worked for a full year without leave because I’ve used up my holiday for the maternity period.”
Under the new labor law, pregnant women can now take a paid leave of 70 days as long as they give birth within this period of time. New mothers can also be granted an unpaid leave of four months and the law also prohibits employers from dismissing female workers during this period. An employer is also obliged to establish a day care center for children below four years of age if more than 50 women or 200 men work in the establishment.
Employees who meet with accidents on the job or on their way to and from work must receive full salaries throughout the recovering period slated by a physician. If this period exceeds six months, then the employer pays half the salary until the injured employee recovers, dies or his/her handicap is confirmed.
Regarding employee termination, the new law says that the employer must give a notice of three months and no worker can be terminated while on leave. The notice period for an employee to resign his or her job is also three months. The law also prohibits employers from firing workers without a reason, as a result of activities in NGOs or because they demanded their rights.
Jordan: Foreign housemaids suffer harassment and abuse
March 10th, 2010
Below is the translation from Arabic of an article that appeared in the Jordanian daily Al-Dustur last month.
Amman – Al-Dustur Newspaper – Fares Al-Habashneh
13 February, 2010
Foreign housemaids in Jordan are slowly but surely beginning to raise their voices to concerned authorities to reveal what they undergo from violation of rights, harassment and physical and moral abuse.
Many housemaids are treated well by their employers, while others undergo inhumane treatments that cause them mental, physical and moral harm, which leads some of them to consider running away from these homes or turn to their embassies, and others to commit suicide by throwing themselves from the windows of the homes of their employers or attempt to drink toxic substances or hang themselves to end their suffering.
One of the Asian housemaids aged 22 years old, who arrived to Jordan in 2009, finally gathered her courage to file a complaint against her employers who she claimed to have beaten her. She states that she suffered hunger, and during the first two months on the job, her employer used to give her only a piece of bread daily and sometimes bits and pieces of leftovers. The brunette who headed to the embassy remembers her employer telling her “you are fat and you should not eat a lot.”
Housemaids who turn to their embassies remain there until their cases are solved with their sponsors or the offices that represent them, and then they are either sent back home or their situations are handled and they are sent back to their workplace.
Tamkeen (empowerment) Center for Legal Aid, which is a nongovernmental rights organization that defends migrant workers, declares receiving about 230 complaints last year filed by housemaids who were exposed to various types of violations and abuse. According to the head of the center, Linda Kilsh, 15 cases were directed to the judiciary, whereby 14 decisions concerning these cases were issued in favor of the housemaids, while other complaints were solved through a peaceful settlement with sponsors and the rest through a settlement with concerned parties.
Kilsh points out that the majority of maids who turned to the center were running away from the homes of their employers. She revealed that the complaints that were filed varied from exposure to beatings and forced labor and the confiscation of the maids’ passports.
The National Center for Human Rights receives complaints and solves them with concerned parties without turning to the courts. The said center states receiving about 500 complaints last year from runaways who had been exposed to beatings, physical abuse and the confiscation of their passports, and this is considered the highest percentage of complaints according to the center’s statistics. Kilsh believes that including housemaids under the umbrella of the Labor Law in accordance with the latest amendments to it builds protection for these maids and legally guarantees their salary, the necessity of paying this salary entirely in accordance with the contract signed between the sponsor and the maid, providing them with annual and monthly leaves, as well as other rights that protect these maids from undergoing any violations. She also points out that the issue of maids’ rights is gradually becoming more clear, but many of them do not have the courage to file complaints either because they are afraid or because they do not have legal documents. Furthermore, the majority of housemaids who file complaints to the center are runaways from the homes of their employers, because obstacles prevent them from filing complaints while they are living in the homes of their employers.
Those concerned with labor rights see that guarantees provided by the law are insufficient considering the absence of an instrument that monitors their application. Attorney Muhammad Al-Atrash states that the legal rights are clear, but the issue in question is how a maid can obtain her rights to approach concerned authorities and file a complaint when she is exposed to violation and abuse inside the home of her employer or by other concerned individuals. Al-Atrash believes that the adoption of an integrated work contract in conformity with national legislations might contribute to solving the cases of housemaids, limiting violations and abuses they are exposed to, and defining the responsibility of those who file complaints.
Experts state the necessity of issuing a legislation that guarantees the inspection of maids within the homes of their employers and conforming their working circumstances with national standards of work environments. These experts stress the necessity of this legislation due to the increase of suicide cases among housemaids, especially in cases where they throw themselves from high stories.
During the past few months, the Directorate of Public Security recorded about 18 suicide attempts among housemaids living in the homes of their employers and others in places where housemaids are gathered to be put on the market for work. According to Al-Atrash, the exploitation of housemaids, which sometimes leads to their abuse, leads a worrying number of them to commit suicide.
Filipinos urged to join Home Development Fund
Web posted at: 3/15/2010 6:5:12
Source ::: The Peninsula
Sharmaine Pamela Bautista, information officer of the POLO-OWWA in Qatar, explains before Filipino community leaders the benefits of the new Pag-IBIG fund law.
By CHRIS V PANGANIBAN
DOHA: Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in Qatar are now obliged with a new law to register with the Philippine government’s Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF) or more popularly known as Pag-IBIG fund.
The new law enacted through Republic Act 9697 (RA 9697) and takes effect since January 1 this year makes it already mandatory for all OFWs around the world to be covered with Pag-IBIG fund.
Sharmaine Pamela Bautista, information officer of the Philippine Overseas Labour Office-Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (POLO-OWWA), told community leaders during a meeting at the Philippine Embassy over the weekend that the new law would make it beneficial for them for their savings on their retirement, emergency short term loan and housing loan.
“Pag-IBIG fund has been always associated with government housing programme and we want to clarify that with the new law, this also covers retirement benefits from their provident savings,” Bautista said. The implementing rules of RA 9697 provide that all OFWs, whether land-based or sea-based, and those employed by foreign-based employers, should register with the Pag-IBIG fund.
Bautista said monthly amortization for members of Pag-IBIG Overseas Programme (POP) is just a hundred pesos or roughly about QR10 and with their prescribed contribution OFWs are already covered by provident savings for retirement, the popular housing loan and the short-term emergency loan.
She said OFW voluntary members under the POP needs to register at the POLO-OWWA to update their records by filling up the Member’s Data Form downloadable at the Pag-IBIG fund website (www.pagibigfund.gov.ph) in case of the changes in their personal information.
Bautista clarified their office is not collecting fees for those filling up the Members Data Form even as they already required it especially vacationing OFWs securing Overseas Employment Certificates from the POLO-OWWA. “Contrary to feedbacks, we don’t collect fees for the form,” she said.
Below is the translation from Arabic of an article that appeared in the Jordanian daily Al-Dustur last month.
Amman – Al-Dustur Newspaper – Fares Al-Habashneh
13 February, 2010
Foreign housemaids in Jordan are slowly but surely beginning to raise their voices to concerned authorities to reveal what they undergo from violation of rights, harassment and physical and moral abuse.
Many housemaids are treated well by their employers, while others undergo inhumane treatments that cause them mental, physical and moral harm, which leads some of them to consider running away from these homes or turn to their embassies, and others to commit suicide by throwing themselves from the windows of the homes of their employers or attempt to drink toxic substances or hang themselves to end their suffering.
One of the Asian housemaids aged 22 years old, who arrived to Jordan in 2009, finally gathered her courage to file a complaint against her employers who she claimed to have beaten her. She states that she suffered hunger, and during the first two months on the job, her employer used to give her only a piece of bread daily and sometimes bits and pieces of leftovers. The brunette who headed to the embassy remembers her employer telling her “you are fat and you should not eat a lot.”
Housemaids who turn to their embassies remain there until their cases are solved with their sponsors or the offices that represent them, and then they are either sent back home or their situations are handled and they are sent back to their workplace.
Tamkeen (empowerment) Center for Legal Aid, which is a nongovernmental rights organization that defends migrant workers, declares receiving about 230 complaints last year filed by housemaids who were exposed to various types of violations and abuse. According to the head of the center, Linda Kilsh, 15 cases were directed to the judiciary, whereby 14 decisions concerning these cases were issued in favor of the housemaids, while other complaints were solved through a peaceful settlement with sponsors and the rest through a settlement with concerned parties.
Kilsh points out that the majority of maids who turned to the center were running away from the homes of their employers. She revealed that the complaints that were filed varied from exposure to beatings and forced labor and the confiscation of the maids’ passports.
The National Center for Human Rights receives complaints and solves them with concerned parties without turning to the courts. The said center states receiving about 500 complaints last year from runaways who had been exposed to beatings, physical abuse and the confiscation of their passports, and this is considered the highest percentage of complaints according to the center’s statistics. Kilsh believes that including housemaids under the umbrella of the Labor Law in accordance with the latest amendments to it builds protection for these maids and legally guarantees their salary, the necessity of paying this salary entirely in accordance with the contract signed between the sponsor and the maid, providing them with annual and monthly leaves, as well as other rights that protect these maids from undergoing any violations. She also points out that the issue of maids’ rights is gradually becoming more clear, but many of them do not have the courage to file complaints either because they are afraid or because they do not have legal documents. Furthermore, the majority of housemaids who file complaints to the center are runaways from the homes of their employers, because obstacles prevent them from filing complaints while they are living in the homes of their employers.
Those concerned with labor rights see that guarantees provided by the law are insufficient considering the absence of an instrument that monitors their application. Attorney Muhammad Al-Atrash states that the legal rights are clear, but the issue in question is how a maid can obtain her rights to approach concerned authorities and file a complaint when she is exposed to violation and abuse inside the home of her employer or by other concerned individuals. Al-Atrash believes that the adoption of an integrated work contract in conformity with national legislations might contribute to solving the cases of housemaids, limiting violations and abuses they are exposed to, and defining the responsibility of those who file complaints.
Experts state the necessity of issuing a legislation that guarantees the inspection of maids within the homes of their employers and conforming their working circumstances with national standards of work environments. These experts stress the necessity of this legislation due to the increase of suicide cases among housemaids, especially in cases where they throw themselves from high stories.
During the past few months, the Directorate of Public Security recorded about 18 suicide attempts among housemaids living in the homes of their employers and others in places where housemaids are gathered to be put on the market for work. According to Al-Atrash, the exploitation of housemaids, which sometimes leads to their abuse, leads a worrying number of them to commit suicide.
Filipinos urged to join Home Development Fund
Web posted at: 3/15/2010 6:5:12
Source ::: The Peninsula
Sharmaine Pamela Bautista, information officer of the POLO-OWWA in Qatar, explains before Filipino community leaders the benefits of the new Pag-IBIG fund law.
By CHRIS V PANGANIBAN
DOHA: Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in Qatar are now obliged with a new law to register with the Philippine government’s Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF) or more popularly known as Pag-IBIG fund.
The new law enacted through Republic Act 9697 (RA 9697) and takes effect since January 1 this year makes it already mandatory for all OFWs around the world to be covered with Pag-IBIG fund.
Sharmaine Pamela Bautista, information officer of the Philippine Overseas Labour Office-Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (POLO-OWWA), told community leaders during a meeting at the Philippine Embassy over the weekend that the new law would make it beneficial for them for their savings on their retirement, emergency short term loan and housing loan.
“Pag-IBIG fund has been always associated with government housing programme and we want to clarify that with the new law, this also covers retirement benefits from their provident savings,” Bautista said. The implementing rules of RA 9697 provide that all OFWs, whether land-based or sea-based, and those employed by foreign-based employers, should register with the Pag-IBIG fund.
Bautista said monthly amortization for members of Pag-IBIG Overseas Programme (POP) is just a hundred pesos or roughly about QR10 and with their prescribed contribution OFWs are already covered by provident savings for retirement, the popular housing loan and the short-term emergency loan.
She said OFW voluntary members under the POP needs to register at the POLO-OWWA to update their records by filling up the Member’s Data Form downloadable at the Pag-IBIG fund website (www.pagibigfund.gov.ph) in case of the changes in their personal information.
Bautista clarified their office is not collecting fees for those filling up the Members Data Form even as they already required it especially vacationing OFWs securing Overseas Employment Certificates from the POLO-OWWA. “Contrary to feedbacks, we don’t collect fees for the form,” she said.
800 firms banned from hiring workers
Wafa Issa
• Last Updated: March 14. 2010 11:46PM UAE / March 14. 2010 7:46PM GMT
DUBAI // Eight hundred of the UAE’s biggest companies have been banned from hiring new workers because they did not join the federal Government’s new Wage Protection System (WPS) by the November 30 deadline.
The Ministry of Labour, in co-operation with the Central Bank, stipulated that all 269,100 companies in all seven emirates should pay their workers through banks by the end of May.
That enables the ministry to automatically check if a company is defaulting on salaries or making illegal deductions from salaries.
Under the first phase of the scheme, the country’s 4,100 or so companies with at least 100 employees – which employ a total of 2.1 million workers – had to comply by the end of November.
The Minister of Labour, Saqr Ghobash, said yesterday that some 3,000 large firms had signed up for the scheme, and that 1,100 had not. About 300 of those have been granted a grace period because they claimed to have “technical issues” that prevented them from joining on time.
The grace period was granted only after the ministry ensured their workers were being paid regularly. The length of the grace period has not been disclosed.
The ministry has stopped issuing the remaining 800 big firms with new work permits.
Mr Ghobash said he was satisfied with the uptake, despite the sanctions levied against the offending companies.
“The figures reflects the increasing awareness on the WPS, among employers, which have proved its effectiveness as a tool guaranteeing that workers are being paid their salaries on time.”
Employees at some of the 800 companies who have yet to join the system say they have not received their salaries for some time.
Padakanti Janardhanan, 27, an Indian construction worker, said he had not been paid for three months.
A worker for a Sharjah construction company with 900 employees, Mr Janardhanan claimed the company had promised to credit his salary to the bank for months but had not done so yet.
“They used to give us our wages in cash before. However, now they say they would pay to the bank but I have got nothing yet,” he said.
He welcomed the WPS – but said it had yet to make a difference to him and some of his colleagues who have also not been paid.
“The system is good but only if these companies are following it.”
With just a few dirhams left in his pocket, Mr Janardhanan is hoping to go back home: “I just want my passport back and want to go home. I have given up hope that I will be paid anything.”
Mohammed Usman, 32, a construction worker in Dubai, said: “We were told that, from this year, our salaries will go into the bank account. But work has stopped and we do not get full salaries now.”
He claimed his Sharjah-based employer has been paying workers intermittently – roughly every two or three months. “When they get money, they pay us. Many of the workers are sitting in the camp with no work,” said the Bangladeshi.
The deadline for the second phase of the scheme, which covers 35,000 companies that have between 15 and 99 employees, passed in late February, meaning that 80 per cent of the workforce should be covered by now.
The deadline for the third and final phase, covering 900,000 workers in 230,000 small companies, is May 31.
Nevertheless, officials said a total of only 6,000 medium and small-sized firms have enrolled in the plan so far, meaning that overall only about a third have signed up.
The ministry will start penalising medium-sized companies that have not complied at the end of March.
wissa@thenational.ae
* With additional reporting by Praveen Menon
• Last Updated: March 14. 2010 11:46PM UAE / March 14. 2010 7:46PM GMT
DUBAI // Eight hundred of the UAE’s biggest companies have been banned from hiring new workers because they did not join the federal Government’s new Wage Protection System (WPS) by the November 30 deadline.
The Ministry of Labour, in co-operation with the Central Bank, stipulated that all 269,100 companies in all seven emirates should pay their workers through banks by the end of May.
That enables the ministry to automatically check if a company is defaulting on salaries or making illegal deductions from salaries.
Under the first phase of the scheme, the country’s 4,100 or so companies with at least 100 employees – which employ a total of 2.1 million workers – had to comply by the end of November.
The Minister of Labour, Saqr Ghobash, said yesterday that some 3,000 large firms had signed up for the scheme, and that 1,100 had not. About 300 of those have been granted a grace period because they claimed to have “technical issues” that prevented them from joining on time.
The grace period was granted only after the ministry ensured their workers were being paid regularly. The length of the grace period has not been disclosed.
The ministry has stopped issuing the remaining 800 big firms with new work permits.
Mr Ghobash said he was satisfied with the uptake, despite the sanctions levied against the offending companies.
“The figures reflects the increasing awareness on the WPS, among employers, which have proved its effectiveness as a tool guaranteeing that workers are being paid their salaries on time.”
Employees at some of the 800 companies who have yet to join the system say they have not received their salaries for some time.
Padakanti Janardhanan, 27, an Indian construction worker, said he had not been paid for three months.
A worker for a Sharjah construction company with 900 employees, Mr Janardhanan claimed the company had promised to credit his salary to the bank for months but had not done so yet.
“They used to give us our wages in cash before. However, now they say they would pay to the bank but I have got nothing yet,” he said.
He welcomed the WPS – but said it had yet to make a difference to him and some of his colleagues who have also not been paid.
“The system is good but only if these companies are following it.”
With just a few dirhams left in his pocket, Mr Janardhanan is hoping to go back home: “I just want my passport back and want to go home. I have given up hope that I will be paid anything.”
Mohammed Usman, 32, a construction worker in Dubai, said: “We were told that, from this year, our salaries will go into the bank account. But work has stopped and we do not get full salaries now.”
He claimed his Sharjah-based employer has been paying workers intermittently – roughly every two or three months. “When they get money, they pay us. Many of the workers are sitting in the camp with no work,” said the Bangladeshi.
The deadline for the second phase of the scheme, which covers 35,000 companies that have between 15 and 99 employees, passed in late February, meaning that 80 per cent of the workforce should be covered by now.
The deadline for the third and final phase, covering 900,000 workers in 230,000 small companies, is May 31.
Nevertheless, officials said a total of only 6,000 medium and small-sized firms have enrolled in the plan so far, meaning that overall only about a third have signed up.
The ministry will start penalising medium-sized companies that have not complied at the end of March.
wissa@thenational.ae
* With additional reporting by Praveen Menon
Fewer foreign workers
FEWER foreign workers were hired last year, while more jobs went to Singapore residents.
The Labour Report 2009 released by the Ministry of Manpower on Monday showed that the number of foreign workers employed fell by 0.4 per cent, or 4,200 last year.
Comparatively, more locals were hired last December from a year ago, going up by 41,800 or 2.2 per cent.
The decline in foreign employment stemmed mainly from fewer hires in the manufacturing sector, which saw a drop of 34,300 foreign workers.
Increases in hiring in the construction (19,700) and services (10,400) industries were not enough to offset the overall decline in foreign employment.
Overall there were 1,053,500 foreigners forming 35.2 per cent of total employment last December, which was 0.6 percentage points below the peak of 35.8 per cent in December 2008.
Excluding foreign domestic workers, the foreigners' share of employment was 30.7 per cent in December 2009, down from 31.4 per cent a year ago.
Read also:
Jobless rate falls to 2.1%
Wages down by 1.6% in 2009
The Labour Report 2009 released by the Ministry of Manpower on Monday showed that the number of foreign workers employed fell by 0.4 per cent, or 4,200 last year.
Comparatively, more locals were hired last December from a year ago, going up by 41,800 or 2.2 per cent.
The decline in foreign employment stemmed mainly from fewer hires in the manufacturing sector, which saw a drop of 34,300 foreign workers.
Increases in hiring in the construction (19,700) and services (10,400) industries were not enough to offset the overall decline in foreign employment.
Overall there were 1,053,500 foreigners forming 35.2 per cent of total employment last December, which was 0.6 percentage points below the peak of 35.8 per cent in December 2008.
Excluding foreign domestic workers, the foreigners' share of employment was 30.7 per cent in December 2009, down from 31.4 per cent a year ago.
Read also:
Jobless rate falls to 2.1%
Wages down by 1.6% in 2009
Sunday, March 14, 2010
IOM to monitor Lankan workers in Libya
Sunday Times -
Pilot project to improve migrant worker conditions
The International Organisation of Migration (IOM), a UN agency, will be monitoring the progress of the first batch of around 500 Sri Lankan workers who leave for Libya next month in a pilot project aimed at improving the status of workers overseas, officials said.
Female workers to Sony, JVC, IBM
Sri Lankan female workers are currently being recruited for production facilities in Malaysia of electronics giants Sony, JVC and IBM, said Sunil Sirisena, Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Employment Promotion and Welfare.
“We have negotiated with the companies who are providing 1,500 jobs (500 each) with the applicants needing a general knowledge of English which is a requirement,” he said.
In a first-time initiative, where an external agency will stand as a guarantor of the contract signed between workers and the employer, IOM’s office in Tripoli will personally follow the progress of these workers throughout their 1-year contracted work period, which is renewable, and step in if there are any issues between the workers and the management. The employer, a Brazilian company, was selected by IOM and the Sri Lankans – all males- will be part of a workforce building a second international airport in Tripoli .
“Our intention is to support government efforts to provide skilled manpower and empower workers before they leave,” said Shantha Kulasekara, Head of Migration Management, IOM Sri Lanka. He told the Business Times that in a very transparent process of recruitment, the Brazilian employer was in Colombo last week involved in the selections. “He personally tested the skills of each worker. For example a bulldozer driver was given a field test at a site in the presence of the Brazilian employer,” he said. The project is an initiative between the Sri Lankan and Libyan governments under an agreement reached between President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi during the Sri Lankan President’s visit to Libya last year.
Thousands of Sri Lankans find jobs mostly in the Middle East and Asia but often encounter problems like non-payment of wages, problems in the contract and working longer hours that contracted while domestic workers face many other problems like sexual abuse and harassment. The Libya initiative which brings in IOM as a tripartite partner is meant to pave the way – if the project succeeds – to similar, supervised job arrangements in other countries.
Sunil Sirisena, Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Employment Promotion and Welfare, said the programme, if successful, would be expanded to Israel , Cyprus , Italy and France . At the request of IOM, the Brazilian company has agreed to hire a Sri Lankan cook and a Sri Lankan coordinator to liaise between the workers and employer. IOM’s Kulasekera says food is often a bone of contention overseas because Sri Lankans may take awhile to get used to the food overseas.
“By having their own cook, they get Sri Lankan food. The Sri Lankan coordinator can help to iron out issues between the management and the workers,” he said. Labourers will get upto Rs 58,000 per month with food and accommodation provided free while the more skilled categories like heavy vehicle drivers can get up to Rs 100,000 per month.
“This way the woman in the house need not go abroad as the husband can earn enough to support the family,” he said. The company is also paying $1000 per worker for processing and other charges ensuring the worker need not pay any money, like in the case of unlicensed agencies who demand money for a job.
“This is a very transparent system and we are hoping it succeeds. If it does, there will be more jobs in Libya for Sri Lankans,” he said.
Pilot project to improve migrant worker conditions
The International Organisation of Migration (IOM), a UN agency, will be monitoring the progress of the first batch of around 500 Sri Lankan workers who leave for Libya next month in a pilot project aimed at improving the status of workers overseas, officials said.
Female workers to Sony, JVC, IBM
Sri Lankan female workers are currently being recruited for production facilities in Malaysia of electronics giants Sony, JVC and IBM, said Sunil Sirisena, Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Employment Promotion and Welfare.
“We have negotiated with the companies who are providing 1,500 jobs (500 each) with the applicants needing a general knowledge of English which is a requirement,” he said.
In a first-time initiative, where an external agency will stand as a guarantor of the contract signed between workers and the employer, IOM’s office in Tripoli will personally follow the progress of these workers throughout their 1-year contracted work period, which is renewable, and step in if there are any issues between the workers and the management. The employer, a Brazilian company, was selected by IOM and the Sri Lankans – all males- will be part of a workforce building a second international airport in Tripoli .
“Our intention is to support government efforts to provide skilled manpower and empower workers before they leave,” said Shantha Kulasekara, Head of Migration Management, IOM Sri Lanka. He told the Business Times that in a very transparent process of recruitment, the Brazilian employer was in Colombo last week involved in the selections. “He personally tested the skills of each worker. For example a bulldozer driver was given a field test at a site in the presence of the Brazilian employer,” he said. The project is an initiative between the Sri Lankan and Libyan governments under an agreement reached between President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi during the Sri Lankan President’s visit to Libya last year.
Thousands of Sri Lankans find jobs mostly in the Middle East and Asia but often encounter problems like non-payment of wages, problems in the contract and working longer hours that contracted while domestic workers face many other problems like sexual abuse and harassment. The Libya initiative which brings in IOM as a tripartite partner is meant to pave the way – if the project succeeds – to similar, supervised job arrangements in other countries.
Sunil Sirisena, Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Employment Promotion and Welfare, said the programme, if successful, would be expanded to Israel , Cyprus , Italy and France . At the request of IOM, the Brazilian company has agreed to hire a Sri Lankan cook and a Sri Lankan coordinator to liaise between the workers and employer. IOM’s Kulasekera says food is often a bone of contention overseas because Sri Lankans may take awhile to get used to the food overseas.
“By having their own cook, they get Sri Lankan food. The Sri Lankan coordinator can help to iron out issues between the management and the workers,” he said. Labourers will get upto Rs 58,000 per month with food and accommodation provided free while the more skilled categories like heavy vehicle drivers can get up to Rs 100,000 per month.
“This way the woman in the house need not go abroad as the husband can earn enough to support the family,” he said. The company is also paying $1000 per worker for processing and other charges ensuring the worker need not pay any money, like in the case of unlicensed agencies who demand money for a job.
“This is a very transparent system and we are hoping it succeeds. If it does, there will be more jobs in Libya for Sri Lankans,” he said.
Jordan: Foreign housemaids suffer harassment and abuse
Below is the translation from Arabic of an article that appeared in the Jordanian daily Al-Dustur last month.
Foreign housemaids suffer harassment and abuse
Amman – Al-Dustur Newspaper – Fares Al-Habashneh
13 February, 2010
Foreign housemaids in Jordan are slowly but surely beginning to raise their voices to concerned authorities to reveal what they undergo from violation of rights, harassment and physical and moral abuse.
Many housemaids are treated well by their employers, while others undergo inhumane treatments that cause them mental, physical and moral harm, which leads some of them to consider running away from these homes or turn to their embassies, and others to commit suicide by throwing themselves from the windows of the homes of their employers or attempt to drink toxic substances or hang themselves to end their suffering.
One of the Asian housemaids aged 22 years old, who arrived to Jordan in 2009, finally gathered her courage to file a complaint against her employers who she claimed to have beaten her. She states that she suffered hunger, and during the first two months on the job, her employer used to give her only a piece of bread daily and sometimes bits and pieces of leftovers. The brunette who headed to the embassy remembers her employer telling her “you are fat and you should not eat a lot.”
Housemaids who turn to their embassies remain there until their cases are solved with their sponsors or the offices that represent them, and then they are either sent back home or their situations are handled and they are sent back to their workplace.
Tamkeen (empowerment) Center for Legal Aid, which is a nongovernmental rights organization that defends migrant workers, declares receiving about 230 complaints last year filed by housemaids who were exposed to various types of violations and abuse. According to the head of the center, Linda Kilsh, 15 cases were directed to the judiciary, whereby 14 decisions concerning these cases were issued in favor of the housemaids, while other complaints were solved through a peaceful settlement with sponsors and the rest through a settlement with concerned parties.
Kilsh points out that the majority of maids who turned to the center were running away from the homes of their employers. She revealed that the complaints that were filed varied from exposure to beatings and forced labor and the confiscation of the maids’ passports.
The National Center for Human Rights receives complaints and solves them with concerned parties without turning to the courts. The said center states receiving about 500 complaints last year from runaways who had been exposed to beatings, physical abuse and the confiscation of their passports, and this is considered the highest percentage of complaints according to the center’s statistics. Kilsh believes that including housemaids under the umbrella of the Labor Law in accordance with the latest amendments to it builds protection for these maids and legally guarantees their salary, the necessity of paying this salary entirely in accordance with the contract signed between the sponsor and the maid, providing them with annual and monthly leaves, as well as other rights that protect these maids from undergoing any violations. She also points out that the issue of maids’ rights is gradually becoming more clear, but many of them do not have the courage to file complaints either because they are afraid or because they do not have legal documents. Furthermore, the majority of housemaids who file complaints to the center are runaways from the homes of their employers, because obstacles prevent them from filing complaints while they are living in the homes of their employers.
Those concerned with labor rights see that guarantees provided by the law are insufficient considering the absence of an instrument that monitors their application. Attorney Muhammad Al-Atrash states that the legal rights are clear, but the issue in question is how a maid can obtain her rights to approach concerned authorities and file a complaint when she is exposed to violation and abuse inside the home of her employer or by other concerned individuals. Al-Atrash believes that the adoption of an integrated work contract in conformity with national legislations might contribute to solving the cases of housemaids, limiting violations and abuses they are exposed to, and defining the responsibility of those who file complaints.
Experts state the necessity of issuing a legislation that guarantees the inspection of maids within the homes of their employers and conforming their working circumstances with national standards of work environments. These experts stress the necessity of this legislation due to the increase of suicide cases among housemaids, especially in cases where they throw themselves from high stories.
During the past few months, the Directorate of Public Security recorded about 18 suicide attempts among housemaids living in the homes of their employers and others in places where housemaids are gathered to be put on the market for work. According to Al-Atrash, the exploitation of housemaids, which sometimes leads to their abuse, leads a worrying number of them to commit suicide.
Foreign housemaids suffer harassment and abuse
Amman – Al-Dustur Newspaper – Fares Al-Habashneh
13 February, 2010
Foreign housemaids in Jordan are slowly but surely beginning to raise their voices to concerned authorities to reveal what they undergo from violation of rights, harassment and physical and moral abuse.
Many housemaids are treated well by their employers, while others undergo inhumane treatments that cause them mental, physical and moral harm, which leads some of them to consider running away from these homes or turn to their embassies, and others to commit suicide by throwing themselves from the windows of the homes of their employers or attempt to drink toxic substances or hang themselves to end their suffering.
One of the Asian housemaids aged 22 years old, who arrived to Jordan in 2009, finally gathered her courage to file a complaint against her employers who she claimed to have beaten her. She states that she suffered hunger, and during the first two months on the job, her employer used to give her only a piece of bread daily and sometimes bits and pieces of leftovers. The brunette who headed to the embassy remembers her employer telling her “you are fat and you should not eat a lot.”
Housemaids who turn to their embassies remain there until their cases are solved with their sponsors or the offices that represent them, and then they are either sent back home or their situations are handled and they are sent back to their workplace.
Tamkeen (empowerment) Center for Legal Aid, which is a nongovernmental rights organization that defends migrant workers, declares receiving about 230 complaints last year filed by housemaids who were exposed to various types of violations and abuse. According to the head of the center, Linda Kilsh, 15 cases were directed to the judiciary, whereby 14 decisions concerning these cases were issued in favor of the housemaids, while other complaints were solved through a peaceful settlement with sponsors and the rest through a settlement with concerned parties.
Kilsh points out that the majority of maids who turned to the center were running away from the homes of their employers. She revealed that the complaints that were filed varied from exposure to beatings and forced labor and the confiscation of the maids’ passports.
The National Center for Human Rights receives complaints and solves them with concerned parties without turning to the courts. The said center states receiving about 500 complaints last year from runaways who had been exposed to beatings, physical abuse and the confiscation of their passports, and this is considered the highest percentage of complaints according to the center’s statistics. Kilsh believes that including housemaids under the umbrella of the Labor Law in accordance with the latest amendments to it builds protection for these maids and legally guarantees their salary, the necessity of paying this salary entirely in accordance with the contract signed between the sponsor and the maid, providing them with annual and monthly leaves, as well as other rights that protect these maids from undergoing any violations. She also points out that the issue of maids’ rights is gradually becoming more clear, but many of them do not have the courage to file complaints either because they are afraid or because they do not have legal documents. Furthermore, the majority of housemaids who file complaints to the center are runaways from the homes of their employers, because obstacles prevent them from filing complaints while they are living in the homes of their employers.
Those concerned with labor rights see that guarantees provided by the law are insufficient considering the absence of an instrument that monitors their application. Attorney Muhammad Al-Atrash states that the legal rights are clear, but the issue in question is how a maid can obtain her rights to approach concerned authorities and file a complaint when she is exposed to violation and abuse inside the home of her employer or by other concerned individuals. Al-Atrash believes that the adoption of an integrated work contract in conformity with national legislations might contribute to solving the cases of housemaids, limiting violations and abuses they are exposed to, and defining the responsibility of those who file complaints.
Experts state the necessity of issuing a legislation that guarantees the inspection of maids within the homes of their employers and conforming their working circumstances with national standards of work environments. These experts stress the necessity of this legislation due to the increase of suicide cases among housemaids, especially in cases where they throw themselves from high stories.
During the past few months, the Directorate of Public Security recorded about 18 suicide attempts among housemaids living in the homes of their employers and others in places where housemaids are gathered to be put on the market for work. According to Al-Atrash, the exploitation of housemaids, which sometimes leads to their abuse, leads a worrying number of them to commit suicide.
Saudi’s “Arab Times” Portrays Maids as Abusive Sneaky Witches
The Saudi English daily Arab News published a report today about the apparent growing trend of maids who attack their employers as a response to mistreatment. The report, titled “Maids turn up the heat on sponsors” portrays the maids as the abusers, while barely mentioning the abuse maids suffer all across Saudi Arabia.
Following this line, “Maids’ sneaky ways to get back at their sponsors vary from black magic to child abuse”, the report provides interviews with a number of Saudi woman who’ve suffered at the hands of their maids. We of course don’t dismiss the reports about children who have been abused by maids, or murders and theft perpetrated by maids. However, reports such as this one, which portray the sponsors as victims and maids as aggressors, are disregarding the weakness of migrant workers in Saudi society and the little to no rights and state protection they are offered.
The report concludes with this ridiculous paragraph:
A Saudi woman said her husband left her and married the maid because she put a spell on him.
“I accidentally noticed a piece of thin fabric which held some hair and some unknown words written on it under my husband’s pillow. I searched more and I found a voodoo doll between his clothes. I later discovered that my maid was making a love talisman for my husband to make him leave me and marry her,” said Umm Omar, a housewife.
These kind of reports help justify racist attitudes toward migrant workers and their abuse. Aggressors who feel like they are the real victims will persist with their abuse with no scruples. Saudi media should be reporting less about witch maids, and more about the systematic discrimination against migrants under the sponsorship system in the kingdom.
Following this line, “Maids’ sneaky ways to get back at their sponsors vary from black magic to child abuse”, the report provides interviews with a number of Saudi woman who’ve suffered at the hands of their maids. We of course don’t dismiss the reports about children who have been abused by maids, or murders and theft perpetrated by maids. However, reports such as this one, which portray the sponsors as victims and maids as aggressors, are disregarding the weakness of migrant workers in Saudi society and the little to no rights and state protection they are offered.
The report concludes with this ridiculous paragraph:
A Saudi woman said her husband left her and married the maid because she put a spell on him.
“I accidentally noticed a piece of thin fabric which held some hair and some unknown words written on it under my husband’s pillow. I searched more and I found a voodoo doll between his clothes. I later discovered that my maid was making a love talisman for my husband to make him leave me and marry her,” said Umm Omar, a housewife.
These kind of reports help justify racist attitudes toward migrant workers and their abuse. Aggressors who feel like they are the real victims will persist with their abuse with no scruples. Saudi media should be reporting less about witch maids, and more about the systematic discrimination against migrants under the sponsorship system in the kingdom.
Three confess to kidnap and rape
By Abdul Karim Al-Murabba’
MAKKAH – The General Court in Adham in Makkah has heard the statements of three men accused of kidnapping and raping a housemaid of Asian nationality before abandoning her naked in a remote region late at night.
The three kidnapped the woman, who was employed at a house in the Al-Jayeza District in Al-Laith, at an undisclosed time and took her to an unpopulated region 25 km away.
After being abandoned the victim walked 25 km alone through the night across desert land until she came across a house in the region of Al-Umraniya and alerted the occupants who called the police. The three accused were detained shortly after and subsequently confessed to investigators. – Okaz/SG
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Erring garages to be fined SR500
‘Violations at homes for disabled to be punished’By Faris Al-Qahtani
Compensation ‘insufficient’
33.8% of Saudis do not exercise, ‘alarming’ rise in diabetes cases
MAKKAH – The General Court in Adham in Makkah has heard the statements of three men accused of kidnapping and raping a housemaid of Asian nationality before abandoning her naked in a remote region late at night.
The three kidnapped the woman, who was employed at a house in the Al-Jayeza District in Al-Laith, at an undisclosed time and took her to an unpopulated region 25 km away.
After being abandoned the victim walked 25 km alone through the night across desert land until she came across a house in the region of Al-Umraniya and alerted the occupants who called the police. The three accused were detained shortly after and subsequently confessed to investigators. – Okaz/SG
OTHER NEWS FROM Nation
KING MEETS WITH BOSNIAN PRESIDENT
VIEW FROM THE ARABIC PRESS
Jet Airways to have daily Dammam to Tvm flights
Public warned of phony census calls
Climate conference opens with focus on health sector
Indian worker’s 15-hour ordeal in the desert
Erring garages to be fined SR500
‘Violations at homes for disabled to be punished’By Faris Al-Qahtani
Compensation ‘insufficient’
33.8% of Saudis do not exercise, ‘alarming’ rise in diabetes cases
Bangladesh consular team to visit Buraidah
RIYADH – A Bangladeshi consular team will be visiting Buraidah on March 18 and 19 to extend consular, welfare and remittance promotional services to the Bangladesh community in Buraidah and adjoining areas.
The team will establish its office at Hotel Al-Salman.
Further information can be had on Tel. No. 01-4195300/20, a press release issued here said. – SG OTHER NEWS FROM Nation
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Jet Airways to have daily Dammam to Tvm flights
Public warned of phony census calls
Climate conference opens with focus on health sector
Indian worker’s 15-hour ordeal in the desert
Erring garages to be fined SR500
‘Violations at homes for disabled to be punished’By Faris Al-Qahtani
Compensation ‘insufficient’
33.8% of Saudis do not exercise, ‘alarming’ rise in diabetes cases
The team will establish its office at Hotel Al-Salman.
Further information can be had on Tel. No. 01-4195300/20, a press release issued here said. – SG OTHER NEWS FROM Nation
KING MEETS WITH BOSNIAN PRESIDENT
VIEW FROM THE ARABIC PRESS
Jet Airways to have daily Dammam to Tvm flights
Public warned of phony census calls
Climate conference opens with focus on health sector
Indian worker’s 15-hour ordeal in the desert
Erring garages to be fined SR500
‘Violations at homes for disabled to be punished’By Faris Al-Qahtani
Compensation ‘insufficient’
33.8% of Saudis do not exercise, ‘alarming’ rise in diabetes cases
Indian worker’s 15-hour ordeal in the desert
By Shahid Ali Khan
RIYADH – Sharfudeen Necheeri (26), an Indian menial job worker, survived in a desert for 15 hours on a cup of milk and a glass of water.
Two crooks posing as plainclothes policemen picked up Necheeri on Thursday and drove for four hours and dumped him in a desert outside of the capital. The thugs robbed him of his SR360 but spared his mobile phone, “because it was made in China.”
Speaking about his ordeal, Necheeri said the duo approached him while he was walking alone at 10.30 P.M. on a street in Batha. They asked for his iqama (residence permit) and instructed him to sit in the car.
“I obeyed because they posed as plainclothes policemen,” he said.
The two men took Necheeri in an apartment building and locked him in a room for four hours before taking him to a remote area, about four hours drive from Riyadh and dumped him in the desert at 3.30 A.M.
It was a real ordeal for Necheeri, a janitor at a grocery store in Batha, to have spent his late hours of Thursday night in the desert. He was left with SR2 and a mobile phone, which had a low battery. It was pitch dark and he had nowhere to go for help.
Groping in the dark a panicky Necheeri decided to move on toward the city. Early Friday he found a group of camels in the desert and a Sudanese shepherd.
“I was exhausted from the long walk and I was hungry. I asked the Sudanese for food. As there was no food available the Sudanese guy offered me a cup of cow’s milk and a bottle of water. I paid him SR2, the only money left with me,” Necheeri said.
Necheeri’s friend lodged a complaint with Riyadh-chapter of Kerala Muslim Culture Center (KMCC), which in turn approached the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR).
Shaji Allapuzha, a KMCC member, said Salah Al-Kathla’an, Vice Chairman of NSHR, was very cooperative in the matter and asked the Riyadh Police to launch a search operation for missing Necheeri.
The police were prompt in launching a search operation by deploying a helicopter and a patrol in the desert area.
“The patrol asked me to accompany them in their search operation, basically to identify the missing person (Necheeri). Within a short time Riyadh Police managed to track Necheeri’s mobile phone through GPS system,” Allapuzzha said.
Although Necheeri’s mobile phone battery was at its low, the police were able to track him as he was moving toward the city, he said.
Finally a contact was established with Necheeri and once in police hand, he was taken to the primary health care center for medical checkup.
“Although a little panicky, Necheeri is doing fine now,” Allapuzha said. – SG
RIYADH – Sharfudeen Necheeri (26), an Indian menial job worker, survived in a desert for 15 hours on a cup of milk and a glass of water.
Two crooks posing as plainclothes policemen picked up Necheeri on Thursday and drove for four hours and dumped him in a desert outside of the capital. The thugs robbed him of his SR360 but spared his mobile phone, “because it was made in China.”
Speaking about his ordeal, Necheeri said the duo approached him while he was walking alone at 10.30 P.M. on a street in Batha. They asked for his iqama (residence permit) and instructed him to sit in the car.
“I obeyed because they posed as plainclothes policemen,” he said.
The two men took Necheeri in an apartment building and locked him in a room for four hours before taking him to a remote area, about four hours drive from Riyadh and dumped him in the desert at 3.30 A.M.
It was a real ordeal for Necheeri, a janitor at a grocery store in Batha, to have spent his late hours of Thursday night in the desert. He was left with SR2 and a mobile phone, which had a low battery. It was pitch dark and he had nowhere to go for help.
Groping in the dark a panicky Necheeri decided to move on toward the city. Early Friday he found a group of camels in the desert and a Sudanese shepherd.
“I was exhausted from the long walk and I was hungry. I asked the Sudanese for food. As there was no food available the Sudanese guy offered me a cup of cow’s milk and a bottle of water. I paid him SR2, the only money left with me,” Necheeri said.
Necheeri’s friend lodged a complaint with Riyadh-chapter of Kerala Muslim Culture Center (KMCC), which in turn approached the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR).
Shaji Allapuzha, a KMCC member, said Salah Al-Kathla’an, Vice Chairman of NSHR, was very cooperative in the matter and asked the Riyadh Police to launch a search operation for missing Necheeri.
The police were prompt in launching a search operation by deploying a helicopter and a patrol in the desert area.
“The patrol asked me to accompany them in their search operation, basically to identify the missing person (Necheeri). Within a short time Riyadh Police managed to track Necheeri’s mobile phone through GPS system,” Allapuzzha said.
Although Necheeri’s mobile phone battery was at its low, the police were able to track him as he was moving toward the city, he said.
Finally a contact was established with Necheeri and once in police hand, he was taken to the primary health care center for medical checkup.
“Although a little panicky, Necheeri is doing fine now,” Allapuzha said. – SG
Sri Lankan dies after jet ski accident
By MD RASOOLDEEN | ARAB NEWS
Published: Mar 15, 2010 00:32 Updated: Mar 15, 2010 00:36
RIYADH: A Sri Lankan man who used to rent out jet skis in Jeddah died in hospital following an accident while riding a jet ski in the Obhur creek.
Sinne Lebbe Yusuf Lebbe, 36, popularly known as Zainul Abideen, died after falling from the machine which he had just repaired and was trying out.
Confirming the death, Sri Lankan Consul General Sabarullah Khan told Arab News that officials from the Saudi Red Crescent Society rescued the 36-year-old from the water and took him to a nearby hospital.
“He later succumbed to injuries to his stomach which were caused by the machine ... Doctors battled for 48 hours to save him,” said the consul general, thanking the hospital. He said police have ruled out foul play.
Lebbe, a bachelor, had been in the Kingdom for 13 years. He had not been maintaining regular contact with relatives in Nintavur in the Ampara district, some 300 km from Colombo.
Khan said Lebbe has three brothers, one of whom in the Eastern Province.
The consulate has contacted his relatives in Sri Lanka and obtained consent to bury him in Jeddah, Khan said.
Published: Mar 15, 2010 00:32 Updated: Mar 15, 2010 00:36
RIYADH: A Sri Lankan man who used to rent out jet skis in Jeddah died in hospital following an accident while riding a jet ski in the Obhur creek.
Sinne Lebbe Yusuf Lebbe, 36, popularly known as Zainul Abideen, died after falling from the machine which he had just repaired and was trying out.
Confirming the death, Sri Lankan Consul General Sabarullah Khan told Arab News that officials from the Saudi Red Crescent Society rescued the 36-year-old from the water and took him to a nearby hospital.
“He later succumbed to injuries to his stomach which were caused by the machine ... Doctors battled for 48 hours to save him,” said the consul general, thanking the hospital. He said police have ruled out foul play.
Lebbe, a bachelor, had been in the Kingdom for 13 years. He had not been maintaining regular contact with relatives in Nintavur in the Ampara district, some 300 km from Colombo.
Khan said Lebbe has three brothers, one of whom in the Eastern Province.
The consulate has contacted his relatives in Sri Lanka and obtained consent to bury him in Jeddah, Khan said.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Migrant workers an employment challenge: vice-minister
(Xinhua)
2010-03-10 16:15
BEIJING - Oversupply of labor in China's vast rural areas will continue now and for years to come, as China's migrant workers numbered about 230 million in 2009, Vice-Minister of Agriculture Wei Chao'an said here on Wednesday.
Wei told a press conference on the sidelines of the ongoing annual session of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's parliament, that he saw contradictions between current reports about "labor shortage" in coastal cities and massive underemployment in rural areas.
"We need further analysis on the reported 'labor shortage'," he said. "On the one hand, it is difficult for enterprises in coastal areas to recruit enough workers this year. And on the other hand, it is difficult for the countryside to transfer its redundant laborers to cities for employment."
The vice minister noted that oversupply of labor and underemployment would remain a challenge for China in the much longer term with its huge number of rural labor force.
Wei quoted the National Bureau of Statistics as saying that China had about 230 million farmer-turned workers last year, of whom about 145 million were seeking job opportunities outside their hometowns.
The number of redundant laborers in rural areas totaled about 90 million in China, home to a population of more than 1.3 billion.
In the government report submitted last week to the NPC, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao vowed to keep the urban registered unemployment rate no higher than 4.6 percent this year while guiding workers in an orderly flow, especially rural migrant workers.
2010-03-10 16:15
BEIJING - Oversupply of labor in China's vast rural areas will continue now and for years to come, as China's migrant workers numbered about 230 million in 2009, Vice-Minister of Agriculture Wei Chao'an said here on Wednesday.
Wei told a press conference on the sidelines of the ongoing annual session of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's parliament, that he saw contradictions between current reports about "labor shortage" in coastal cities and massive underemployment in rural areas.
"We need further analysis on the reported 'labor shortage'," he said. "On the one hand, it is difficult for enterprises in coastal areas to recruit enough workers this year. And on the other hand, it is difficult for the countryside to transfer its redundant laborers to cities for employment."
The vice minister noted that oversupply of labor and underemployment would remain a challenge for China in the much longer term with its huge number of rural labor force.
Wei quoted the National Bureau of Statistics as saying that China had about 230 million farmer-turned workers last year, of whom about 145 million were seeking job opportunities outside their hometowns.
The number of redundant laborers in rural areas totaled about 90 million in China, home to a population of more than 1.3 billion.
In the government report submitted last week to the NPC, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao vowed to keep the urban registered unemployment rate no higher than 4.6 percent this year while guiding workers in an orderly flow, especially rural migrant workers.
Thailand to jail migrants at political rallies - minister
From: AFP
March 09, 2010 5:58PM
THAILAND will imprison and hand out heavy fines to any migrant workers who attend mass anti-government rallies in Bangkok this weekend, the labour minister said today.
Migrants would be subject to a five-year jail term and fines of up to 100,000 baht ($3358) if found among protesters loyal to fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra who are due to gather in the capital on Sunday.
"Employers will (also) be fined up to 100,000 baht for each migrant worker and (the migrant's) work permit will be cancelled immediately," Labour Minister Phaitoon Kaeothong said.
Thaksin's supporters, known as "Red Shirts" for the colour they wear, are expected to hold one of their biggest ever rallies to protest against a Supreme Court decision two weeks ago that seized most of the tycoon's fortune.
They are also demanding that the government quit and end what they perceive as a two-tier system of justice that gives preference to the country's Bangkok-based elites in the bureaucracy, military and palace.
The government has warned that the demonstrations could turn violent and is expected to endorse on Tuesday a tough security act that places the army in charge of handling the rallies.
Thailand's economy relies on workers from its poorer neighbours, but in recent months the country has become tougher on immigration at its borders and has been accused of widespread mistreatment of migrants.
Amnesty International's Thailand expert Benjamin Zawacki said the kingdom should not deny migrants their basic rights to express their political views by attending the rallies.
"Regardless of your legal status in a country, it should not affect your human rights, which include freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and freedom of association," Mr Zawacki said.
Rights groups have denounced a new migrant registration policy brought in this month that forces more than one million workers to verify their nationalities with their home governments.
They say the policy puts the vulnerable group in greater danger of deportation and extortion by unscrupulous authorities.
March 09, 2010 5:58PM
THAILAND will imprison and hand out heavy fines to any migrant workers who attend mass anti-government rallies in Bangkok this weekend, the labour minister said today.
Migrants would be subject to a five-year jail term and fines of up to 100,000 baht ($3358) if found among protesters loyal to fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra who are due to gather in the capital on Sunday.
"Employers will (also) be fined up to 100,000 baht for each migrant worker and (the migrant's) work permit will be cancelled immediately," Labour Minister Phaitoon Kaeothong said.
Thaksin's supporters, known as "Red Shirts" for the colour they wear, are expected to hold one of their biggest ever rallies to protest against a Supreme Court decision two weeks ago that seized most of the tycoon's fortune.
They are also demanding that the government quit and end what they perceive as a two-tier system of justice that gives preference to the country's Bangkok-based elites in the bureaucracy, military and palace.
The government has warned that the demonstrations could turn violent and is expected to endorse on Tuesday a tough security act that places the army in charge of handling the rallies.
Thailand's economy relies on workers from its poorer neighbours, but in recent months the country has become tougher on immigration at its borders and has been accused of widespread mistreatment of migrants.
Amnesty International's Thailand expert Benjamin Zawacki said the kingdom should not deny migrants their basic rights to express their political views by attending the rallies.
"Regardless of your legal status in a country, it should not affect your human rights, which include freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and freedom of association," Mr Zawacki said.
Rights groups have denounced a new migrant registration policy brought in this month that forces more than one million workers to verify their nationalities with their home governments.
They say the policy puts the vulnerable group in greater danger of deportation and extortion by unscrupulous authorities.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Ex-migrant workers of Sri Lanka are to be registered
Mar 10, Colombo : Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau has commenced a programme to register the persons who have returned to the home country after working overseas.
The Chairman of the Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau Kingsley Ranawaka said that over 50,000 ex-migrant workers had registered themselves under this programme.
The programme, commenced recently, aims to guarantee the future of the ex-migrant workers and to obtain their services for the country, said Mr. Ranawaka. He added that the problems of the ex-migrant workers would be addressed and they would be provided with guidance and welfare under this programme.
The Chairman urged the ex-migrant workers to register as soon as possible at the nearest regional offices of the Foreign Employment Bureau.
International labor migration from Sri Lanka has remarkably grown over the last decades, with numbers increasing more than tenfold, according to the Central Bank, Annual Report 2008.
The total number of out migrants from Sri Lanka on employment abroad was estimated at 1.8 million. Annual outflow of workers is about 250,000 people. In 2007, the equivalent of 23% of total employment generated and 21% of Sri Lanka 's labor force was made up by foreign employment.
Migrant remittances are a mainstay of the Lankan economy, accounting for about 7% of GDP and 36% of export earnings.
SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka .
The Chairman of the Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau Kingsley Ranawaka said that over 50,000 ex-migrant workers had registered themselves under this programme.
The programme, commenced recently, aims to guarantee the future of the ex-migrant workers and to obtain their services for the country, said Mr. Ranawaka. He added that the problems of the ex-migrant workers would be addressed and they would be provided with guidance and welfare under this programme.
The Chairman urged the ex-migrant workers to register as soon as possible at the nearest regional offices of the Foreign Employment Bureau.
International labor migration from Sri Lanka has remarkably grown over the last decades, with numbers increasing more than tenfold, according to the Central Bank, Annual Report 2008.
The total number of out migrants from Sri Lanka on employment abroad was estimated at 1.8 million. Annual outflow of workers is about 250,000 people. In 2007, the equivalent of 23% of total employment generated and 21% of Sri Lanka 's labor force was made up by foreign employment.
Migrant remittances are a mainstay of the Lankan economy, accounting for about 7% of GDP and 36% of export earnings.
SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka .
Sri Lankan Migration To The Gulf: Female Breadwinners — Domestic Workers
By Michele Ruth Gamburd for MEI
Several waves of Sri Lankan migration have taken place since the country gained independence in 1948. Beginning in the mid-1950s, wealthy, educated, English-speaking elites have migrated to Commonwealth countries such as Australia and the United Kingdom. In addition, since the upsurge in ethnic hostilities in the early 1980s, Tamil speaking Hindu migrants have left the country, with many settling in Canada. In contrast with these permanent migrants, since 1976 a growing number of Sri Lankans have become migrant workers. The leading destination for this migrant labor force — the majority of whom are women — has been the Gulf.
The Scale and Composition of Sri Lankan Labor Migrants
In 2003, the Sri Lankan Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE), the main administrative body regulating labor migration, estimated that 1,003,600 Sri Lankans worked abroad.1 By 2008, this number had increased to 1,792,368, or 9% of the island’s 20 million people. From the late 1980s until as recently as 2007, women made up the majority of these labor migrants. They accounted for 75% of the migrant flow in the mid-1990s, and by 2008 declined to a little under 50%. Of the migrant women, 88% went to work as housemaids.2 In much of the global North, such migrant transnational domestic workers meet the needs of the global “care deficit,” reflecting a global trend in outsourcing domestic labor to women from less developed countries. In contrast, transnational domestic servants in the Middle East free their sponsors for leisure, supporting a socially significant lifestyle.
In recent years, Sri Lankan officials have actively encouraged male migration. The male guest workers fill more diverse roles, with skilled and unskilled laborers making up roughly equal percentages of the male migrants (42% and 41% respectively in 2008).
Main Destination Countries
Most Sri Lankan migrants (92%), both male and female, journey to the Gulf, with four countries (Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, and Qatar) absorbing over 80% of Sri Lanka’s workers. In the Gulf, Sri Lankan women share the market for migrant domestic workers with women from Indonesia, the Philippines, and several other countries. Racial, ethnic, religious, and national stereotypes predetermine wages. For example, in the UAE in 2004, housemaids from the Philippines were paid more than those from Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, and Bangladesh, in that order.3
Most Sri Lankan housemaids go abroad on two-year contracts and live in their employers’ residences. Live-in housemaids have less autonomy and lower salaries than women with part-time or live-out arrangements. The isolation of the work situation can lead to abuse and exploitation.
Domestic workers’ legal protections vary from country to country. In many Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, labor laws cover male laborers but do not protect household workers.4 Labor regulations do apply to foreign domestic servants working in other areas in Asia, the European Union, and the United States, but may not be enforced against middle- and upper-class employers.5
Sri Lankan Sojourners as Temporary Migrants in the Gulf
Guest workers form a crucial aspect of local economies in the Gulf. Overall, foreigners make up an estimated 37-43% of the population of the GCC countries and constitute 70% of the workforce, with workforce numbers rising significantly higher in the UAE (90%), Kuwait (82%), and Qatar (90%).6 Most GCC countries have a de facto dual economy, with well paid, non-strenuous public-sector jobs created for “nationals” and poorly paid, difficult, low-status, private sector jobs performed by foreigners.
The high percentage of guest workers worries government officials. Accordingly, governments have legislated to minimize the perceived threat. Restrictions on length of stay, strict regulations about changing jobs, hurdles imposed by the sponsorship system, difficult-to-meet criteria for bringing in family members, the inability to own land and businesses, the near-impossibility of obtaining citizenship, and the absence of legal rights all work to keep guest workers’ stays short, temporary, or informal.7 Although Sri Lankans migrate to Australia, Canada, and the UK with plans to settle there, most sojourners in the Gulf do not hope to assimilate permanently into the host country.
Incentives for Sri Lankan Transnational Domestic Migrants
There are both national-level and family-level incentives for Sri Lankans to migrate. On the national level, migrant laborers’ remittances contribute significantly to Sri Lanka’s foreign exchange earnings. In 2008, total remittances stood at SLR 316,118 million, or roughly $2.87 billion (converted at $1 = SLR 110). Nearly 60% of this total, SLR 189,039 million or $1.72 billion, came from the Gulf. In generating foreign earnings, private remittances (36%) come second after Sri Lanka’s large garment industry (40%). Clearly the country has a great financial stake in the remittances generated by migrant laborers, particularly those working in the Gulf.
Migration alleviates unemployment among the poorer segments of Sri Lanka’s population. Locally available jobs are mostly poorly paid and temporary, particularly for women. Although transnational domestic workers earn only an average of $100 a month while abroad, this is between two and five times what women could earn working in Sri Lanka, and equals or exceeds the wages earned by most village men. Migrant women consistently assert that families cannot make ends meet on their husbands’ salaries, and say that migration to the Middle East is their only available economic alternative. Family motives for migration usually include getting out of debt, buying land, and building a house. Women also state that they would like to support their family’s daily consumption needs, educate their children, and provide dowries for themselves or their daughters. Participants in the decision-making process (undergone repeatedly for migrants who return several times to the Gulf) weigh financial necessity and household improvements against separation, incursion of loans, and alternate arrangements for childcare.
Migrant women often become the sole or most significant breadwinners for their families. Several studies suggest that each migrant woman supports four to five members of her family; figures for migrant men are likely similar.8 In 2003, the SLBFE estimated that migrant laborers made up 14% of the total number of employed Sri Lankans. By 2008, this figure had jumped to 25%. A significant and growing percentage of Sri Lankan families are thus directly dependent on Gulf remittances.
Conclusion
Labor migration to the Gulf has become a core feature of Sri Lankans’ economic strategies at the family and national levels. Migration is likely to continue in the future. Trends will depend upon several factors: Sri Lanka’s success in diversifying its migrants’ destination countries; its economic growth and the local availability of desirable jobs; and its continued capacity to send care workers abroad while tending to an aging population at home.
Michele Ruth Gamburd is Professor of Anthropology at Portland State University. She is the author of The Kitchen Spoon’s Handle: Transnationalism and Sri Lanka’s Migrant Housemaids (Cornell University Press, 2000) and Breaking the Ashes: The Culture of Illicit Liquor in Sri Lanka (Cornell University Press, 2008).
This article was first published in Viewpoints: Migration and the Gulf, February 2010 (PDF) published by the Middle East Institute (MEI), pages 13-15, and is reprinted here with permission.
NOTES:
1. Statistical information in this article comes from the Sri Lankan Bureau of Foreign Employment’s Annual Statistical Report of Foreign Employment 2008, which can be found online at http://slbfe.lk/downloads/Annual Statistical Report 2008 - SLBFE.pdf.
2. In Sri Lanka, domestic servants are often referred to as “housemaids” in both English and Sinhala. These migrant women’s duties often exceed the narrow technical limits of the term.
3. Michele Gamburd, “Advocating for Sri Lankan Migrant Workers: Obstacles and Challenges,” Critical Asian Studies, Vol. 41, No. 1 (2009), p. 70.
4. Regarding Saudi Arabia, see Graeme Hugo, “Indonesian International Domestic Workers: Contemporary Developments and Issues,” in Shirlena Huang, Brenda S.A. Yeoh, and Noor Abdul Rahman, eds., Asian Women as Transnational Domestic Workers (Singapore: Marshall Cavendish, 2005), p. 83; regarding the UAE, see Gamburd, “Advocating for Sri Lankan Migrant Workers,” p. 66; regarding the UAE and Kuwait, see Karen Leonard, “South Asian Workers in the Gulf: Jockeying for Places,” in Richard Warren Perry and Bill Maurer, eds., Globalization under Construction: Governmentality, Law, and Identity (Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 2003), pp. 134, 153.
5. Pei-Chia Lan, “Surrogate Family, Disposable Labour and Stratified Others: Transnational Domestic Workers in Taiwan,” in Shirlena Huang, Brenda S.A. Yeoh, and Noor Abdul Rahman, eds., Asian Women as Transnational Domestic Workers, (Singapore: Marshall Cavendish, 2005), p. 227; Vivienne Wee and Amy Sim, “Hong Kong as a Destination for Migrant Domestic Workers,” in Shirlena Huang, Brenda S.A. Yeoh, and Noor Abdul Rahman, eds., Asian Women as Transnational Domestic Workers, (Singapore: Marshall Cavendish, 2005), p. 193.
6. Andrzej Kapiszewski, “Arab Versus Asian Migrant Workers in the GCC Countries.” Paper presented at the United Nations Expert Group Meeting on International Migration and Development in the Arab Region, United Nations Secretariat, Beirut, Lebanon, May 15-17, 2006, p. 4; Sulayman Khalaf and Saad Alkobaisiet, “Migrants’ Strategies of Coping and Patterns of Accommodation in the Oil-Rich Gulf Societies: Evidence from the UAE,” British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 26, No. 2 (1999), p. 272; Leonard, “South Asian Workers in the Gulf,” p. 133.
7. Sulayman Khalaf, “Gulf Societies and the Image of Unlimited Good,” Dialectical Anthropology, Vol. 17 (1992), p. 72; Khalaf and Alkobaisi, “Migrants’ Strategies of Coping,” p. 294; Ahn Nga Longva, Walls Build on Sand: Migration, Exclusion, and Society in Kuwait (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1997).
8. Swarna Jayaweera, Malsiri Dias, and Leelangi Wanasundera, Returnee Migrant Women in Two Locations in Sri Lanka: (Colombo, Sri Lanka: CENWOR, 2002), p. 1; Nedra Weerakoon, “Sri Lanka: A Caste Study of International Female Labour Migration,” in S. Sta. M. Amparita, J.J. Balisnono, R. Plaetevoet, and R. Selwyn, eds., Legal Protection for Asian Women Migrant Workers: Strategies for Action, (Makati City, Philippines: Ateneo Human Rights Center, 1998), p. 109.
Several waves of Sri Lankan migration have taken place since the country gained independence in 1948. Beginning in the mid-1950s, wealthy, educated, English-speaking elites have migrated to Commonwealth countries such as Australia and the United Kingdom. In addition, since the upsurge in ethnic hostilities in the early 1980s, Tamil speaking Hindu migrants have left the country, with many settling in Canada. In contrast with these permanent migrants, since 1976 a growing number of Sri Lankans have become migrant workers. The leading destination for this migrant labor force — the majority of whom are women — has been the Gulf.
The Scale and Composition of Sri Lankan Labor Migrants
In 2003, the Sri Lankan Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE), the main administrative body regulating labor migration, estimated that 1,003,600 Sri Lankans worked abroad.1 By 2008, this number had increased to 1,792,368, or 9% of the island’s 20 million people. From the late 1980s until as recently as 2007, women made up the majority of these labor migrants. They accounted for 75% of the migrant flow in the mid-1990s, and by 2008 declined to a little under 50%. Of the migrant women, 88% went to work as housemaids.2 In much of the global North, such migrant transnational domestic workers meet the needs of the global “care deficit,” reflecting a global trend in outsourcing domestic labor to women from less developed countries. In contrast, transnational domestic servants in the Middle East free their sponsors for leisure, supporting a socially significant lifestyle.
In recent years, Sri Lankan officials have actively encouraged male migration. The male guest workers fill more diverse roles, with skilled and unskilled laborers making up roughly equal percentages of the male migrants (42% and 41% respectively in 2008).
Main Destination Countries
Most Sri Lankan migrants (92%), both male and female, journey to the Gulf, with four countries (Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, and Qatar) absorbing over 80% of Sri Lanka’s workers. In the Gulf, Sri Lankan women share the market for migrant domestic workers with women from Indonesia, the Philippines, and several other countries. Racial, ethnic, religious, and national stereotypes predetermine wages. For example, in the UAE in 2004, housemaids from the Philippines were paid more than those from Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, and Bangladesh, in that order.3
Most Sri Lankan housemaids go abroad on two-year contracts and live in their employers’ residences. Live-in housemaids have less autonomy and lower salaries than women with part-time or live-out arrangements. The isolation of the work situation can lead to abuse and exploitation.
Domestic workers’ legal protections vary from country to country. In many Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, labor laws cover male laborers but do not protect household workers.4 Labor regulations do apply to foreign domestic servants working in other areas in Asia, the European Union, and the United States, but may not be enforced against middle- and upper-class employers.5
Sri Lankan Sojourners as Temporary Migrants in the Gulf
Guest workers form a crucial aspect of local economies in the Gulf. Overall, foreigners make up an estimated 37-43% of the population of the GCC countries and constitute 70% of the workforce, with workforce numbers rising significantly higher in the UAE (90%), Kuwait (82%), and Qatar (90%).6 Most GCC countries have a de facto dual economy, with well paid, non-strenuous public-sector jobs created for “nationals” and poorly paid, difficult, low-status, private sector jobs performed by foreigners.
The high percentage of guest workers worries government officials. Accordingly, governments have legislated to minimize the perceived threat. Restrictions on length of stay, strict regulations about changing jobs, hurdles imposed by the sponsorship system, difficult-to-meet criteria for bringing in family members, the inability to own land and businesses, the near-impossibility of obtaining citizenship, and the absence of legal rights all work to keep guest workers’ stays short, temporary, or informal.7 Although Sri Lankans migrate to Australia, Canada, and the UK with plans to settle there, most sojourners in the Gulf do not hope to assimilate permanently into the host country.
Incentives for Sri Lankan Transnational Domestic Migrants
There are both national-level and family-level incentives for Sri Lankans to migrate. On the national level, migrant laborers’ remittances contribute significantly to Sri Lanka’s foreign exchange earnings. In 2008, total remittances stood at SLR 316,118 million, or roughly $2.87 billion (converted at $1 = SLR 110). Nearly 60% of this total, SLR 189,039 million or $1.72 billion, came from the Gulf. In generating foreign earnings, private remittances (36%) come second after Sri Lanka’s large garment industry (40%). Clearly the country has a great financial stake in the remittances generated by migrant laborers, particularly those working in the Gulf.
Migration alleviates unemployment among the poorer segments of Sri Lanka’s population. Locally available jobs are mostly poorly paid and temporary, particularly for women. Although transnational domestic workers earn only an average of $100 a month while abroad, this is between two and five times what women could earn working in Sri Lanka, and equals or exceeds the wages earned by most village men. Migrant women consistently assert that families cannot make ends meet on their husbands’ salaries, and say that migration to the Middle East is their only available economic alternative. Family motives for migration usually include getting out of debt, buying land, and building a house. Women also state that they would like to support their family’s daily consumption needs, educate their children, and provide dowries for themselves or their daughters. Participants in the decision-making process (undergone repeatedly for migrants who return several times to the Gulf) weigh financial necessity and household improvements against separation, incursion of loans, and alternate arrangements for childcare.
Migrant women often become the sole or most significant breadwinners for their families. Several studies suggest that each migrant woman supports four to five members of her family; figures for migrant men are likely similar.8 In 2003, the SLBFE estimated that migrant laborers made up 14% of the total number of employed Sri Lankans. By 2008, this figure had jumped to 25%. A significant and growing percentage of Sri Lankan families are thus directly dependent on Gulf remittances.
Conclusion
Labor migration to the Gulf has become a core feature of Sri Lankans’ economic strategies at the family and national levels. Migration is likely to continue in the future. Trends will depend upon several factors: Sri Lanka’s success in diversifying its migrants’ destination countries; its economic growth and the local availability of desirable jobs; and its continued capacity to send care workers abroad while tending to an aging population at home.
Michele Ruth Gamburd is Professor of Anthropology at Portland State University. She is the author of The Kitchen Spoon’s Handle: Transnationalism and Sri Lanka’s Migrant Housemaids (Cornell University Press, 2000) and Breaking the Ashes: The Culture of Illicit Liquor in Sri Lanka (Cornell University Press, 2008).
This article was first published in Viewpoints: Migration and the Gulf, February 2010 (PDF) published by the Middle East Institute (MEI), pages 13-15, and is reprinted here with permission.
NOTES:
1. Statistical information in this article comes from the Sri Lankan Bureau of Foreign Employment’s Annual Statistical Report of Foreign Employment 2008, which can be found online at http://slbfe.lk/downloads/Annual Statistical Report 2008 - SLBFE.pdf.
2. In Sri Lanka, domestic servants are often referred to as “housemaids” in both English and Sinhala. These migrant women’s duties often exceed the narrow technical limits of the term.
3. Michele Gamburd, “Advocating for Sri Lankan Migrant Workers: Obstacles and Challenges,” Critical Asian Studies, Vol. 41, No. 1 (2009), p. 70.
4. Regarding Saudi Arabia, see Graeme Hugo, “Indonesian International Domestic Workers: Contemporary Developments and Issues,” in Shirlena Huang, Brenda S.A. Yeoh, and Noor Abdul Rahman, eds., Asian Women as Transnational Domestic Workers (Singapore: Marshall Cavendish, 2005), p. 83; regarding the UAE, see Gamburd, “Advocating for Sri Lankan Migrant Workers,” p. 66; regarding the UAE and Kuwait, see Karen Leonard, “South Asian Workers in the Gulf: Jockeying for Places,” in Richard Warren Perry and Bill Maurer, eds., Globalization under Construction: Governmentality, Law, and Identity (Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 2003), pp. 134, 153.
5. Pei-Chia Lan, “Surrogate Family, Disposable Labour and Stratified Others: Transnational Domestic Workers in Taiwan,” in Shirlena Huang, Brenda S.A. Yeoh, and Noor Abdul Rahman, eds., Asian Women as Transnational Domestic Workers, (Singapore: Marshall Cavendish, 2005), p. 227; Vivienne Wee and Amy Sim, “Hong Kong as a Destination for Migrant Domestic Workers,” in Shirlena Huang, Brenda S.A. Yeoh, and Noor Abdul Rahman, eds., Asian Women as Transnational Domestic Workers, (Singapore: Marshall Cavendish, 2005), p. 193.
6. Andrzej Kapiszewski, “Arab Versus Asian Migrant Workers in the GCC Countries.” Paper presented at the United Nations Expert Group Meeting on International Migration and Development in the Arab Region, United Nations Secretariat, Beirut, Lebanon, May 15-17, 2006, p. 4; Sulayman Khalaf and Saad Alkobaisiet, “Migrants’ Strategies of Coping and Patterns of Accommodation in the Oil-Rich Gulf Societies: Evidence from the UAE,” British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 26, No. 2 (1999), p. 272; Leonard, “South Asian Workers in the Gulf,” p. 133.
7. Sulayman Khalaf, “Gulf Societies and the Image of Unlimited Good,” Dialectical Anthropology, Vol. 17 (1992), p. 72; Khalaf and Alkobaisi, “Migrants’ Strategies of Coping,” p. 294; Ahn Nga Longva, Walls Build on Sand: Migration, Exclusion, and Society in Kuwait (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1997).
8. Swarna Jayaweera, Malsiri Dias, and Leelangi Wanasundera, Returnee Migrant Women in Two Locations in Sri Lanka: (Colombo, Sri Lanka: CENWOR, 2002), p. 1; Nedra Weerakoon, “Sri Lanka: A Caste Study of International Female Labour Migration,” in S. Sta. M. Amparita, J.J. Balisnono, R. Plaetevoet, and R. Selwyn, eds., Legal Protection for Asian Women Migrant Workers: Strategies for Action, (Makati City, Philippines: Ateneo Human Rights Center, 1998), p. 109.
Ex-migrant workers of Sri Lanka are to be registered
Wed, Mar 10, 2010, 07:44 pm SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka .
Mar 10, Colombo : Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau has commenced a programme to register the persons who have returned to the home country after working overseas.
The Chairman of the Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau Kingsley Ranawaka said that over 50,000 ex-migrant workers had registered themselves under this programme.
The programme, commenced recently, aims to guarantee the future of the ex-migrant workers and to obtain their services for the country, said Mr. Ranawaka. He added that the problems of the ex-migrant workers would be addressed and they would be provided with guidance and welfare under this programme.
The Chairman urged the ex-migrant workers to register as soon as possible at the nearest regional offices of the Foreign Employment Bureau.
International labor migration from Sri Lanka has remarkably grown over the last decades, with numbers increasing more than tenfold, according to the Central Bank, Annual Report 2008.
The total number of out migrants from Sri Lanka on employment abroad was estimated at 1.8 million. Annual outflow of workers is about 250,000 people. In 2007, the equivalent of 23% of total employment generated and 21% of Sri Lanka 's labor force was made up by foreign employment.
Migrant remittances are a mainstay of the Lankan economy, accounting for about 7% of GDP and 36% of export earnings.
Mar 10, Colombo : Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau has commenced a programme to register the persons who have returned to the home country after working overseas.
The Chairman of the Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau Kingsley Ranawaka said that over 50,000 ex-migrant workers had registered themselves under this programme.
The programme, commenced recently, aims to guarantee the future of the ex-migrant workers and to obtain their services for the country, said Mr. Ranawaka. He added that the problems of the ex-migrant workers would be addressed and they would be provided with guidance and welfare under this programme.
The Chairman urged the ex-migrant workers to register as soon as possible at the nearest regional offices of the Foreign Employment Bureau.
International labor migration from Sri Lanka has remarkably grown over the last decades, with numbers increasing more than tenfold, according to the Central Bank, Annual Report 2008.
The total number of out migrants from Sri Lanka on employment abroad was estimated at 1.8 million. Annual outflow of workers is about 250,000 people. In 2007, the equivalent of 23% of total employment generated and 21% of Sri Lanka 's labor force was made up by foreign employment.
Migrant remittances are a mainstay of the Lankan economy, accounting for about 7% of GDP and 36% of export earnings.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Job seekers need home country health certificate
Asma Ali Zain
9 March 2010, 7:12 AM
Expatriates seeking employment here will soon have to bring a medical fitness certificate issued by approved centres in their home country.
This is the new health procedures being formulated by the Dubai Health Authority.
The new regulation, expected by year-end, will include a general health examination for both communicable and non-communicable diseases including diabetes.
The certificate will be issued by DHA-approved health centres abroad and apply to expatriates seeking work permit in Dubai . However, a decision is yet to be taken on whether the locally done medical fitness test will cease.
Decision is also awaited on whether the rule will apply to a specific category of workforce and nationality or for all, a senior health official said on Monday.
“This is for the benefit of both parties — the employer and employee,” Dr Ali Al Marzooqi, Director of Health and Safety of DHA, told Khaleej Times.
“We have seen cases where people have sold their entire property back home to come to Dubai and have not been able to work here because of ill health,” he said.
“It will be up to the employer to decide if he wants to hire an employee despite his medical condition,” he said. “It does not make sense having truck drivers with eyesight problems and people with hearing loss in a job where they are required to listen.”
For communicable diseases such as tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, the authority will order a local confirmatory test. Test centres will be monitored by the authority and will be penalised if found to be faking certificates.
“Not every centre will be able to issue a certificate since we understand that the authority can be misused,” said Dr Al Marzooqi. “We are putting a system in place.”
The DHA is also reviewing regulations governing communicable diseases including TB and HIV/AIDS. Plans are already on to treat and allow tuberculosis patients to stay in the country provided they follow a strict treatment regimen.
The current federal law states that people with tuberculosis be treated and sent back to their home countries. “A final decision in this regard will be taken by July,” he said.
asmaalizain@khaleejtimes
9 March 2010, 7:12 AM
Expatriates seeking employment here will soon have to bring a medical fitness certificate issued by approved centres in their home country.
This is the new health procedures being formulated by the Dubai Health Authority.
The new regulation, expected by year-end, will include a general health examination for both communicable and non-communicable diseases including diabetes.
The certificate will be issued by DHA-approved health centres abroad and apply to expatriates seeking work permit in Dubai . However, a decision is yet to be taken on whether the locally done medical fitness test will cease.
Decision is also awaited on whether the rule will apply to a specific category of workforce and nationality or for all, a senior health official said on Monday.
“This is for the benefit of both parties — the employer and employee,” Dr Ali Al Marzooqi, Director of Health and Safety of DHA, told Khaleej Times.
“We have seen cases where people have sold their entire property back home to come to Dubai and have not been able to work here because of ill health,” he said.
“It will be up to the employer to decide if he wants to hire an employee despite his medical condition,” he said. “It does not make sense having truck drivers with eyesight problems and people with hearing loss in a job where they are required to listen.”
For communicable diseases such as tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, the authority will order a local confirmatory test. Test centres will be monitored by the authority and will be penalised if found to be faking certificates.
“Not every centre will be able to issue a certificate since we understand that the authority can be misused,” said Dr Al Marzooqi. “We are putting a system in place.”
The DHA is also reviewing regulations governing communicable diseases including TB and HIV/AIDS. Plans are already on to treat and allow tuberculosis patients to stay in the country provided they follow a strict treatment regimen.
The current federal law states that people with tuberculosis be treated and sent back to their home countries. “A final decision in this regard will be taken by July,” he said.
asmaalizain@khaleejtimes
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