GCC labor officials discuss unified housemaid contract

Director General of the public authority for workforce Jamal Al-Dosari said Monday a meeting of the undersecretaries of the labor ministries of the GCC member states debated the draft provisions of the unified GCC contract on housemaids.
"The blueprint of the contract provides for the right to leave, sets the daily working hours at six and paid overtime at two hours, and requires provision of decent dwelling," he told reporters following the meeting.
"It bans employers from holding the passports of employees, ensures the freedom of housemaids to move or live outside the home of employer or travel at any time, and commits employers to furnish their housemaids with air ticket in case final termination of their contract," Al-Dosari revealed.
The single contract will take forces after being approved by the GCC labor ministers, he said.
Kuwait's Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor has a department concerned with the employer-worker relationship that addresses any complaints or disputes between both sides, while the Interior Ministry has a department to address the problems of housemaids.
In collaboration with the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor has launched a building to house housemaids which is one of the best specialized centers in the Middle East, Al-Dosari stated.
On Kuwait's civil sector labor law No. 6/2010, Al-Dosari said its fifth article entitles the minister of interior to decree regulations for foreign workers.
He added that director of the residency affairs department of Kuwait Talal Marafi suggested cancellation of the bank guarantee for worker sending countries, set at USD 2,500, with a view to facilitating the movement of labor.
The suggestion was welcomed by all participants in the just-ended meeting who also discussed the measures being taken to facilitate the movement of national workforce among the GCC countries and promote the employment of youth and women's access to jobs, Al-Dosari went on.
Meanwhile, Undersecretary of the Bahraini Ministry of Labor Sabah Al-Dosari called on any foreign labor organizations or human rights agencies that could have any negative observations on situations of labors to present these observations to the concerned GCC country or raise them to the World Labor Organization.
"We in the GCC countries welcome the foreign workers and appreciate their contributions to the development of our countries," he added.