KSA vows to end abuse on domestic workers

MANILA, Philippine - In response to a study that revealed foreign domestic workers in Saudi Arabia are treated like modern-day slaves, the oil-rich nation vowed to use more stringent measures to put an end to the cases of abuse.

Online news site Gulf News reported Wednesday that Saudi’s Ministry of Labor assured that necessary measures were set to prevent further labor abuse on household workers.

Ahmad Al Zamil, undersecretary at the Ministry of Labour told Gulf News that the government is also determined to imprison any Saudi employer caught violating the rights of foreign domestic workers.

"There are laws with provisions of stringent punishment in the kingdom that will be applied in the cases of those employers who are found guilty of abusing their maids or depriving them of their basic rights," he said.

The ministry is reacting to a 133-page report released Tuesday by New York-based group Human Rights Watch that said domestic helpers are denied rights afforded to other workers under Saudi labor laws.

The report also said that rather than receiving justice, domestic workers — most of them migrants from Asia — are more likely to face counter-accusations of witchcraft, theft or adultery. The kingdom reportedly employs an estimated 1.5 million domestic workers, primarily from Indonesia, Sri Lanka, the Philippines and Nepal.

In the government’s defense, Ahmad Al Zamil said the rule of law in Saudi Arabia, which is based on Islamic Shariah, assures that equal rights are afforded to Muslims and non-Muslims.
He added that foreigners are treated like guests in Saudi Arabia. - GMANews.TV

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