Saudis scramble to recruit Filipino maids

Filipino household service workers are in huge demand going by the number of applications received from Saudis for their recruitment after a deal between the two countries came into effect Monday.
The Eastern Province alone recorded 1,240 applications within the first three days, giving a big boost to the activities of Saudi manpower recruitment agencies.
The new contract agreement, which contains 19 articles, will guarantee both parties’ rights, including a monthly salary of SR 1,500 to be paid directly to the household workers through their bank account. It also prevents maids from working at any place other than their sponsor’s residence and gives them the right to keep passport and iqama (residency permit) in their custody.
Philippines Department of Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Dimapiliz-Baldoz expressed optimism that household service workers who will work in Saudi Arabia for the first time will be amply protected.
A group of Filipinos expressed their happiness over the new development with regard to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the Middle East. According to Migrante International, there are now around 1.2 million Filipino workers in Saudi Arabia. In the first half of 2012, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration reported that 175,953 OFWs had been additionally deployed in the Kingdom, making it a top destination for Filipino migrant workers. Accordingly, Filipinos make up the fourth-largest group of expatriates working in Saudi Arabia.
Commenting on this number, Migrante-Middle East regional coordinator John Leonard Monterona said: “Saudi Arabia’s economy, like most Middle Eastern countries, should have been fully developed, but because they lack the needed manpower, they need to hire migrant workers.”