PHL, UAE ink MOU on recruiting domestic workers

by Margaret Claire Layug/KBK, GMA News, Sep 14, 2017

The Philippines and the United Arab Emirates have signed a memorandum aimed at bolstering mutual cooperation in hiring Filipino domestic workers.

A report on Gulf News said Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III signed the memorandum of understanding (MOU) with UAE Human Resources Minister Saqr Ghobash in Abu Dhabi last Tuesday.

The MOU specified that the recruitment of Filipino domestic workers will take after a “UAE model contract.”

It also tasked recruitment offices to send the job offer to the employee in their home country with a list of obligations included in the labor contract. They will also be responsible in securing awareness and guidance programs before the worker leaves the country.

The contract will then be signed by the employer and applicant upon the applicant’s arrival.

Under the MOU, only recruitment agencies registered with the Human Resources and Emiratisation for the UAE will be authorized to offer recruitment and employment applications.

The Philippines was consulted for being one of the countries from which the UAE has a “huge demand” for domestic workers.

“The MoU is a result of many consultations held between the two countries, which began when the UAE Cabinet tasked the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation with overseeing the domestic workers sector in the country,” Ghobash said in the report.

Bello, for his part, said the agreement would improve the management of the contractual period between employers and expat workers. —