Saudi labor and foreign affairs officials may meet soon to iron out issues facing recruiters of Filipino domestic workers due to the Philippine government's contractual requirements.
A report on Arab News quoted Labor Undersecretary Mufrej Al-Haqbani as saying that he may meet with his foreign affairs counterpart on the matter.
He said the meeting may be held along with representatives from recruiting offices in Saudi Arabia “in the next few days.”
“We will listen to the problems faced by these offices and then work with the Foreign Ministry to solve them,” he said.
Citing a source, Arab News said the meeting may tackle the problem of Saudi recruiters in Manila who can deal with only one office at a time, compared to Philippine recruitment offices that can deal with five Saudi offices.
Earlier, Philippine and Saudi labor officials signed a bilateral agreement to regulate the recruitment of domestic workers. The pact defines the rights of employers and employees.
Contracts
The Arab News report noted that the Philippine Labor Department earlier stopped more than 120 Saudi recruitment offices from dealing with their Philippine counterparts.
Arab News said its source claimed the Saudi offices had paid more than 50 percent of the value of the contracts, which was lost due to the move.
The report also said the Philippine Labor Department “occasionally stops labor offices from operating in the Philippines without consulting Saudi government agencies.”
“In this case, the Saudi offices are suffering because the contracts are already signed and fees have been paid. Also, the Philippine labor offices demand payment of 50 percent of the value of a contract once workers are selected. If an office in the Philippines stops operating, its Saudi counterpart loses the money it paid,” Arab News quoted its source as saying.
The report also quoted the National Committee for Recruitment at the Council of Saudi Chambers (CSC) as saying some private Saudi recruitment offices are dealing with agencies in the Philippines not authorized by the Saudi Embassy.
Because of this, the Saudi offices and citizens risk losing their money and having their rights violated. —Joel Locsin/KBK, GMA News
Source: gmanetwork.com/news
