UAE reiterates vow to protect domestics

The United Arab Emirates on Thursday reiterated its commitment to provide a proper working environment for workers, particularly domestic helpers, in the country.

In a report by UAE-based news site Khaleej Times, Major-General Nasser Al Menhali, acting Assistant Undersecretary for Naturalisation, Residency and Exits Affairs at the Interior Ministry, said the ministry is committed to provide a working environment conducive to the welfare and interests primarily of domestic helpers deployed there.

Al Menhali urged embassies of foreign countries in the UAE to fulfill their roles in addressing complaints by housemaids, by raising their awareness and helping them to pursue channels set up by the Ministry of Interior for protecting their rights under a "humanitarian and legal framework."

The report also quoted the top ministry official as saying that all departments of naturalization and residency across the country have units to settle disputes of housemaids.

In case of a dispute between the sponsor and employee, the section receives and examines the complaint

If found guilty, Al Menhali said the sponsor will be compelled to grant the complainant his or her delayed salary in full and the travel fare if the employee wishes to return home.

This is in addition to all rights under the signed contracts between the two parties, the report added.

In case no compromise is reached, the section will submit the complaint to a court proceeding.

Al Menhali said based on their records, the Dispute Settlement Section dealt with 8,216 cases in 2008.

According to Al Menhali, this was a marked drop from the 19,814 cases in 2007.

Records from the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency indicate that in 2008, the UAE registered 193,810 Filipino workers.—Jerrie Abella/JV, GMANews.TV

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more