Saudi stops hiring Filipino domestics

By Philip Tubeza
Philippine Daily Inquirer First Posted 08:04:00 03/29/2011

MANILA, Philippines—Saudi Arabia said it would stop the processing of employment contracts for Filipinos household service workers (HSWs) until further notice, Carlos Cao Jr., Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) chief, said Monday.

The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs relayed this information in a note verbale to the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh on March 12.

According to recruitment industry officials, the ban was connected to the new Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act which requires prior to deployment a Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) certification that the rights of domestic helpers would be adequately protected.

“There was a note verbale from the Saudi Foreign Ministry saying that they will no longer cooperate in the verification of contracts,” Cao said in an interview.

The government “is studying the matter very carefully” because it does not want the issue to affect an estimated 1.5 million overseas Filipino workers in the kingdom, he said.

“We will respond to the note verbale and there is now an immediate policy study being done. It is a very sensitive matter. We do not want to add fuel to the fire,” he added.

Cao said that as of November 2010, there were 80,656 Filipino HSWs with an estimated 9,000 Filipino domestics deployed in Saudi Arabia last year.

He said officials from the DFA and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) were meeting to come out with a “unified position” on how to reply to the note verbale.

“We can already sense that there is a certain degree of slowdown in the deployment of HSWs but as a matter of policy, we are still processing this,” Cao said.

A labor official, who requested anonymity, said the Saudi ban might have been caused by the need for DFA certification on rights protection.

Under the new Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act, OFWs can be sent only to countries where their rights are protected.

The DFA is tasked to certify which countries meet this criteria. This certification will then have to be approved by the POEA governing board.

Cao said the DFA had issued a certification for Saudi Arabia but he declined to say if this included domestic helpers, adding only that POEA was asking for “further clarification” from the DFA.

Recruitment industry consultant Emmanuel Geslani said the certification issue was one of the reasons behind the Saudi ban.

The latest POEA Memo (daw)

Check the memo, folks.

Whose signature is it?

Isn’t there a new POEA Administrator already since Nov 2010?

Special envoy Amb. Roy Cimatu visited Nigeria: Ban soon to be lifted..

After the visit of Gen Cimatu last week, it seems like the ban in Nigeria will soon be lifted.

As it is, Mrs Derpo spoke at length with Gen Cimatu as he arived in Nigeria on March 4, 2009, before proceeding to Abuja.

On March 5th, Gen Cimatu is said to have met wth the Foreign Affairs minister of Nigeria to discuss security situation of OFWs. The Nigerian Foreign Affairs Minister reportedly told Gen Cimatu that everything is okay with filipinos in Nigeria, except in Oil areas.

Later in the day, Gen Cimatu went to the compound of Julius Berger Construction company, where majority of expat employees are Filipinos. Gen Cimatu was guided by Engr Lito Nocum, the head of Filipino association in Abuja, in touring the accommodations for Filipinos.

Gen Cimatu quipped that he’d never seen so many cars outside the embassy belonging to OFWs. He compared Nigeria to Lebanon. To which an OFW said in jest, “walang pong DH sa Nigeria kasi”.

Gen Cimatu wrapped-up his visit to Nigeria with a meeting with Filipinos in Ikeja, Lagos. He was met by the Philippine Barangay Society in Nigeria (PBSN) chairperson (and Banaag 2008 Awardee). Mrs Esperanza Derpo in the airport, and to the PBSN clubhouse in Ikeja.

The meeting with PBSN, emceed by Veronica Bernas-Snoxell, started with the singing of the Phil National Anthem. Father Doury, a long-time Filipino priest in Lagos gave the invocation. Mr. Tito Villaruel, VP of PBSN gave the welcome remarks.  Consul General Alex Lamadrid introduced Ambassador Cimatu, after that, Mrs Derpo presented the Naija Pinoys appeal via a power point presentation. – as reported by Marix Tajo.

Gen. Cimatu reiterated his observation that he was impressed at the job positions of Filipinos (managers and supervisors), and the salary/ accommodations they have in Nigeria.

When asked what would be his recommendation to the President, Gen Cimatu gamely said that it’s obvious from his “body language” that he will recommend for the lifting of the ban.

Gen. Cimatu was accompanied by Consul-Gen Alex LaMadrid on his trip to Abuja and Lagos.

Con-Gen Lamadrid stayed in Ikeja until Sunday so he could attend the March Family Day gathering in Ikeja.

Nigeria is home to almost 5,000 OFWs employed in oil & gas, telecoms, construction, manufacturing and services sectors. Filipinos have been in Nigeria since the early 70′s.

–

Click Here for more photos