DAMMAM/RIYADH: The Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) has issued new requirements for employers to comply with when hiring housemaids and low-skilled female workers. POLO officials said the new requirements, which are already in force, are aimed at ensuring the rights of these workers and protecting them from abuse and maltreatment. “The new requirements are easy to comply with; they are imposed for the protection of the household service workers and at the same time safeguarding the interests of employers. They are meant to ensure, for example, that they are employing the right workers suitable for the job,” a POLO official said. Under the new regulations, the employer should submit his certificate of employment describing his job and monthly income; police clearance to show he has no record of abusing or maltreating housemaids and other low-skilled workers; and submit a copy of the housemaid's passport showing the stamped entry visa by the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Manila. The stamping of the entry visa is to prevent unscrupulous employment agencies from changing or substituting an employer without the worker's consent, POLO officials said. Employers who are retirees or pensioners will be required to submit copies of their certificate of retirement indicating their monthly pension. If the employer is a businessman, he has to submit a copy of his company's commercial registration authenticated by the chamber of commerce and local municipality. These new requirements are in addition to following existing rules and regulations in hiring housemaids and other female workers. The existing requirements include the employer's information sheet duly completed; picture of the employer and spouse and other members of the household; a map of the employer's residence; proof of family income; copy of the housemaid's visa with English translation; the special power of attorney authorizing a recruiting agency in the Philippines to represent the employer and transact business in completing documentation of the housemaid; employment contract specifying, among others, the required $400 monthly salary (SR1,500) of the housemaid; and copy of the sponsor's identification card. Many employers hiring Filipina housemaids have objected to some of the requirements, including the picture of the employer and spouse and other members of the family, police clearance, location map of the employer's residence, and proof of the family income. Most employers are also opposed to the required SR1,500 monthly salary of the housemaid as mandated by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA). Employers, however, are always able to circumvent the required SR1,500 monthly salary by substituting the original contract with a new contract and new salary as low as SR500. Most often, the deployed housemaids are forced to sign the new contract with the lower salary. The demand for Filipina housemaids has risen recently following the announcement by the Saudi Arabian National Recruitment Committee (SANARCOM) that called on the Saudi government to ban Sri Lankan housemaids following a dispute over recruitment charges between SANARCOM and the Association of Licensed Foreign Employment Agencies (ALFEA) of Sri Lanka. SANARCOM, which had signed an agreement with ALFEA to reduce recruitment charges from SR7,500 to SR5,500, alleged that Sri Lankan employment companies are not honoring the agreement. POLO officials said they are strictly monitoring compliance of the new requirements. They stressed that approval to hire housemaids will be denied if the new requirements are not met.
