The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has agreed to lift the one-year ban on hiring Filipina maids, according to a
report from Emirates 24/7.
Saudi and the Philippines agreed to setting the monthly salary of maids working in the Arab country at a minimum of SR1,500 ($400). Moreover, the employer must give the maid a weekly day off and an annual holiday of at least 30 days.
The agreement also grants Pinay maids free ticket during their trip back to the country every year. They will have the right to keep their passports during their stay in the Gulf Kingdom.
"Under the agreement, the employer must also open a bank account for the housemaid to transfer her salary to the bank at the end of every month…the employer is also bound to provide the maid with decent housing and food or an allowance for the two," the Saudi daily Alhayat said.
Likewise, employers must also bear all fees related to visa, residence, arrival, and departure while they must treat their maids nicely and avoid forcing them to work at another house.
Since July 2 last year, Saudi Arabia suspended visas for maids from the Philippines and Indonesia in response to curbs on their travel at home following series of incidents involving maids.
A high-ranking Saudi labor delegation visited the Philippines and Indonesia, in which a tentative agreement was signed, newspapers said late last year.
More than 1.5 million housemaids from the Philippines, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and other Asian and African nations work in Saudi Arabia. The world's top oil supplying nation has been under fire from local and foreign human rights groups due to the death of some housemaids and improper treatment to them.
Photo: Inquirer
