“The ban simply meant that processing the papers and deployment of new household workers — domestic helpers, family drivers, household caregivers and gardeners — have been stopped. However, household workers who have been working in the Kingdom and want to return (after vacationing back home) can do so,” a POLO spokesman told Arab News.

Sources claim that the ban on hiring new household workers stemmed from the fact that the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) had imposed so many requirements for employers in the Kingdom to comply with.

These include the $400 monthly salary, employers’ identification, sketch of the employer’s house and police clearance, among others.

POLO offices in Jeddah and Alkhobar said instructions from Manila were being awaited.

Asked on the number of household workers in Riyadh, the POLO spokesman said that so far, less than 1,000 had approached them to secure their OECs (Overseas Employment Certificates) and pay the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA)  membership fee. Filipino workers who go on vacation normally go to the POEA in Pasig, Metro Manila, to secure OECs and pay the OWWA membership.

The spokesman said initially the ban had also been imposed on returning household workers. “However, we called Labor Undersecretary Danilo Cruz sometime back to inform him about the Kingdom's ban on household workers who had been working here. He promised that he would talk to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA). After that, we started issuing OECs to returning workers as long as they also pay the OWWA membership,” he said.

He added that no returning household worker had complained to the POEA in the Philippines or POLO-OWWA in Riyadh that they could not come back to work in the Kingdom.