DOLE rules out employment ban in UAE despite reports of abuse

Filipinos will not be banned from working in the United Arab Emirates despite reports of abuses against Filipino workers in that Persian Gulf country, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said yesterday.

Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas said a ban would only worsen the situation.

"Imposing a ban would only force our workers to enter UAE illegally which would expose them to greater danger," she said.

Sto. Tomas said the number of cases of non-payment of wages and other abuses against Filipino workers in the UAE is not increasing to an alarming level.

"When you have Filipinos in such magnitude, there is also a high probability that there would be problems, but they should not generalize," she said.

Sto. Tomas said "appropriate mechanisms" are already in place to protect the welfare of the growing number of Filipino workers, especially domestic helpers in the UAE.

The biggest contingent of labor officials in Abu Dhabu, the UAE’s capital, are continuously working to ensure the welfare and safety of Filipino workers in the Emirates and other parts of the Middle East, she added.

Earlier, the DOLE belied reports of the increasing number of abuses committed against Filipina maids in the UAE.

"Undoubtedly, there are cases of abuses against Filipino workers in UAE but as to whether there is a marked increase, there is no such situation," acting Labor Secretary Manuel Imson said in an interview.

Imson said cases of abuse could not be fully avoided because Filipinos currently employed in the UAE are predominantly female domestic helpers and thus considered vulnerable.

But he said Philippine labor and foreign affairs officials in the UAE are enforcing various programs to protect the welfare of Filipino workers and curb the incidence of abuses against them.

Imson noted that the Filipinos’ biggest resource center is located in Abu Dhabi, primarily to provide welfare and other necessary services for the estimated 36,000 Filipinos working there.

Philippine labor attaché Vicente Cabe reported that the number of Filipino workers seeking shelter have doubled in recent weeks, with as many as five runaways a day arriving at the consulate.

Philippine Consul General Generoso Calonge said Indonesia recently banned the deployment of housemaids in the Gulf due to the high incidence of abuse and he hopes the Philippine government would do the same.

"We wish there were fewer, or none at all," he said. "Some of these women come here without a clue."

Imson, however, clarified that not all Filipino workers who sought the help of the consulate were victims of abuse.

"Due to the growing number of Filipino workers there, there was indeed a rise in the number of workers who sought the services of the consulate, but it does not necessarily mean they are victims of abuse. Some just need assistance in renewing their working permit," he said.

"Given the present situation, (a) ban (on the deployment of Filipina maids to the UAE) is being thought of (by the government)."