The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) has blacklisted a Saudi recruitment agency after a Filipino woman it hired as housemaid suffered abuse in the hands of her employer, according to a report.
The POEA banned Snood Manpower Employment Office from hiring overseas Filipino workers (OFW) after one of its employees, Melody Polintang-De Jesus, was abused by her employer in Jeddah.
According to Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz, De Jesus suffered physical injuries inflicted by her employer, did not receive the right compensation provided in the employment contract, and was deployed in harsh working conditions.
De Jesus also suffered burns from a flat iron pressed on her by her female employer, Baldoz said, citing reports from Assistant Labor Attache Oliva Macawili of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Jeddah (POLO-Jeddah).
“These are clear violations of the provisions of the Standard Employment Contract (SEC) entered into by the employer and the employee,” Baldoz said.
The use of the SEC as well as its provisions was agreed upon by the Philippines and Saudi Arabia in a historic event heralding a new era of stronger bilateral cooperation between the two countries for better protection and welfare of Filipino household service workers (HSWs).
The SEC contains 19 articles that spell out clear and specific provisions regarding the employment of Filipino HSWs, which includes housemaids, cooks, family drivers, gardeners and baby sitters.
“We will not tolerate these kinds of abuses, specially if we are able to prove that the recruitment agency has neglected its responsibilities of tending to the needs of the OFWs they deployed abroad. We will deal them the full force of the law,” Baldoz added.
Macawili said Mayon International Trading Corporation and the Saudi recruitment agency Snood Manpower Employment Office deployed De Jesus in July 2013 to work as a domestic helper.
POEA chief Hans Cacdac said Mayon International Trading Corporation has already been placed under preventive suspension and Snood Manpower Employment Office blacklisted. The employer, on the other hand, is now facing criminal charges in a Saudi prosecutor’s office.
Baldoz reminded licensed recruitment agencies to exercise utmost responsibility in ensuring that the rights and welfare of all OFWs they send to a foreign country are respected and protected.
She also warned them and their foreign counterparts or principals that the government would act swiftly on cases of abuse and violations of rights in coordination with and in accordance with the laws of the host governments.
Manila blacklists Saudi recruitment agency
