Manila, Riyadh eye HSW deal

Ahmad Fuhaid, Saudi undersecretary of Labor for International Affairs, said that the ministry has come a long way in the talks with the delegation of the Filipino Ministry of Labor regarding a consolidated agreement to regulate the deployment of Filipino household service workers (HSWs) in the Kingdom.
Fuhaid said also that Manila expressed its willingness to expedite the arrival of HSWs to Saudi Arabia and its commitment to see to it that the workers receive training and orientation courses and that none of them have any criminal record.
Fuhaid said that the Filipino Minister of Labor will visit Saudi Arabia later this month or at the beginning of next month in order to sign the agreement regulating Filipino HSWs in the Kingdom. The agreement stipulates, among other things, that workers should be familiarized with the common practices and standard regulations in Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, Ezzedin H. Tago, Philippine Ambassador to Riyadh, said that there is no crisis between his country and Saudi Arabia regarding the deployment of Filipino HSWs.