Many housemaids run away from their sponsors during Ramadan to escape the burden of overwork, welfare officers of Asian countries said. “We have noted that it is during the Ramadan season that household help, particularly housemaids, run away from their sponsors because of overwork and of being required to stay up late at night to prepare meals,” a welfare officer of an Asian embassy said. He said other reasons, such as non-payment of salary and abuse usually compound the problems faced by these workers. “Ramadan is the season when many housemaids can no longer bear the demands of excessive work and other problems, which is why they run away from their employers,” the welfare officer said. “It is usually during Ramadan when the plight of housemaids is highlighted as the priority welfare problem of Asian embassies, particularly the Philippine Overseas Labor Office of the Philippine Embassy,” another welfare officer stressed. For example, welfare officers at the Philippine embassy in Riyadh and consulate general in Jeddah are on high alert to provide support for runaway household service providers. “Hardly a day passes without us being notified of housemaids abandoning their jobs and seeking help from us,” a Filipino welfare officer said. He said housemaids who run away during Ramadan include those of different nationalities, especially Filipinos, Indonesians and Sri Lankans. Because of the volume of work during Ramadan, even women working as hairdressers and seamstresses are forced by their employers to work overtime. According to Asian nations' welfare officers, it is at this time of the year that abuse and violation of work contracts usually take place. The capacity of the social centers of Asian embassies is usually expanded during Ramadan to accommodate the increase in the number of runaway housemaids. The social center of the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh, which is already full, will be further stretched to provide basic needs, such as food and personal necessities during Ramadan, according to a Filipino welfare officer at the embassy. Despite calls from Asian embassies, social welfare organizations, and human rights bodies to employers to treat their housemaids fairly throughout the year and not only during the month of Ramadan, abuse and maltreatment continues. – SG A leading Filipino recruitment agency has stopped accepting requests to employ Filipina housemaids, hairdressers and seamstresses because of the unfair treatment the workers face during the period of their employment. “The unfair treatment and abuse of household service providers should be investigated, and not just during Ramadan. There must be year-round monitoring to see to it that these workers are treated fairly and in accordance with the law,” the manager of the recruitment agency said.
