Saudi recruitment committee supports RP’s policy on household workers

The fate of household service workers (HSWs), otherwise known as domestics, in Saudi Arabia will see an improvement as the Saudi National recruitment Committee (SANARCOM) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has thrown its support for the package of reforms for HSWs which include a minimum salary of $200 to $400.

Labor secretary Arturo Brion said SANARCOM’s support is a positive development since employers in Saudi Arabia had originally opposed this policy despite all efforts of Filipino labor officials to promote the reforms in the Kingdom.

In December 2006, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) issued a package of welfare and protection reforms for HSWs raising the minimum salary of overseas Filipino HSWs from $200 monthly to $400 monthly. It removed from the HSWs the payment of placement fee.

Aside from setting a minimum wage, prospective HSWs will be required to undergo training at the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) to upgrade their domestic skills and make them worthy of the minimum wage.


Brion said the POLO (Philippine Overseas Labor Office) in Riyadh has just received the support of SANARCOM Chair Saad Al Baddah to the HSW policy. The committee is an affiliate of the Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry.


The new POEA rules for HSWs were strongly opposed due to fears that they may push employers overseas to hire HSWs from other countries who are willing to receive lower wages, thereby, easing out HSWs from the Philippines.


Brion, citing the report of Riyadh-based Labor Attache Rustico dela Fuente, said those who initially opposed the HSW policy included the SANARCOM and organized manpower agencies in the Gulf region. The committee in 2007 even urged recruitment agencies in KSA not to accept applications for HSWs from the Philippines.


The Labor and Employment Secretary said SANARCOM was the lead group that opposed the HSW policy. It had used all possible venues including the media to debase the policy. At certain point, Dela Fuente and other Filipino officials at the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh appeared before the Saudi Chambers of Commerce and the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs to articulate the DOLE position on issues raised against the HSW scheme.


The opposition to the Philippine HSW policy, however, gradually tapered off as the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) firmly stood its ground, Brion said.


He said SANARCOM eventually gave its nod to the HSW policy last month when Dela Fuente issued to Mr. Saad’s recruitment agency the certificate of prequalification indicating the latter’s consent to participate in implementing the HSW policy.


He added that Dela Fuente and Filipino Ambassador Antonio Villamor also held an "appreciation meeting" late last year with 25 Saudi manpower agencies which supported the HSW policy.


The momentum of private sector support, however, could not be complete without the open patronage of SANARCOM, Brion said stressing the committee’s support of the HSW policy is, thus, a major breakthrough in the country’s efforts to promote the HSW policy and ensure the welfare of Filipino HSWs in the Gulf region.


SANARCOM’s support also shows that many Saudis still prefer Filipino skills and are willing to hire Filipino HSWs despite the availability of domestic workers from other countries of origin, Brion said - ABSCBN News-

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