Phl, Saudi OK accord for better welfare of helpers, employers

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines and Saudi Arabia have agreed on the final text of an accord that would improve the welfare and working conditions of  Filipino domestic workers in the kingdom.

In a statement, the DFA said  the  Philippines-Saudi Arabia Joint Technical Working Group (TWG) convened at the Ministry of Labor (MOL) in Riyadh to discuss  the provisions of the draft Agreement on Domestic Worker Recruitment on March 16.

The proposed agreement aims to enhance Philippine-Saudi cooperation on the recruitment of Filipino domestic workers, and seeks to protect the rights of both the worker and the employer and regulate the contractual relations between them.

“With the Standard Domestic Worker Employment Contract being agreed upon last year by the Philippines and Saudi Arabia and now with the draft agreement on domestic worker recruitment being finalized, we expect not only the enhancement of the protection of the rights and the promotion of the welfare of our domestic workers in Saudi Arabia but also the strengthening of the bilateral relations between the Philippines and the Kingdom”,  said Ezzedin Tago, Philippine Ambassador To Saudi Arabia.

The draft agreement also prescribes the regulation and/or control of the domestic recruitment costs in the Philippines and Saudi Arabia, grants to the parties the right of recourse to competent authorities in case of contractual disputes and provides for legal measures against recruitment entities for violation of applicable laws, rules and regulations.

The Philippine side was led by Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Undersecretary Danilo P. Cruz and included Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Deputy Administrator  Josefino Torres, and Department of Foreign Affairs Executive Director for Middle East and Africa  Nathaniel Imperial.  Tago,  Vice Consul Paulo Saret, and Labor Attachés Adam Musa and Alejandro Padaen joined the Philippine delegation during the talks.

The Saudi side included the Ministry of Labor Director General for Bilateral Affairs Waleed Orainan, and  Mohammad Al Toraibi and Mohammad Al Sharka.

The two  parties finalized the initialed draft Agreement on Domestic Worker Recruitment between the Saudi MOL and DOLE last March 17.

Cruz, head of the Philippine Technical Working Group, initialed on behalf of the Philippines, while Saudi Ministry of Labor Deputy Minister for International Affairs Dr. Ahmed F. Al-Fahaid, head of the Saudi TWG, initialed for Saudi Arabia.

Both parties agreed to take necessary steps toward the immediate approval and signing of the Agreement by  Labor Secretary Rosalinda D. Baldoz and Saudi Minister of Labor Adel Fakieh.