Philippines, Kingdom agree on text of employment contract

The Philippines and Saudi Arabia have agreed on the text of the bilateral standard employment contract on the recruitment of Filipino household service workers (HSWs) during meetings on Saturday and Sunday, according to Philippine Ambassador Ezzedin H. Taho.

“The two sides also agreed on the formation of a committee to periodically review the implementation of the contract to be signed when Labor Secretary Erlinda Dimapilis-Baldoz visits the Kingdom,” the Filipino envoy told Arab News on Monday.

The Filipino envoy also clarified that the opening of a bank account for housemaids had earlier been proposed by the Saudi side. Earlier, it was reported by an Arabic newspaper that a recruitment committee in Jeddah had rejected the deal.

He also said that as of yesterday, the Philippine Embassy had verified 6,000 contracts.

“Even if the contract has not yet been signed by the two governments, the Philippine Embassy has begun verifying employment contracts,” Tago said.

The delegation led by Tago included lawyer Danilo P. Cruz, Philippine Undersecretary of Labor and Employment; Hans Cacdac, administrator of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA); Josefino Torres, deputy administrator of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA); and Nathaniel Imperial, executive director of the Department of Foreign Affars.