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AMMAN: Jordan and the Philippines agreed on Sunday
to lift a two-month freeze on the employment of Filipino household
workers in the kingdom, following allegations of abuse, which
Amman has denied.
“The two sides have agreed on
the freeze, but reached an agreement to end it around two or three
days ago,” Jordanian Labor Minister Bassem Salem said.
In January, the Philippine
government said it had stopped sending Filipino workers to Jordan
due to a rising number of abuses, including non-payment of wages,
maltreatment and even rape.
Salem denied the allegations and
said, “The issue had nothing do with abuse claims. It was about a
number of domestic helpers who had problems related to their
residency, and we tried to help them return to their country.”
“A joint committee has been
formed and we have set certain measures for recruitment and to
address other issues,” he added.
But Philippines Ambassador Julius
Torres insisted that “there have been cases of abuse” in Jordan.
“More than 200 Filipino
domestic workers have sought shelter at a special center, complaining
of abuse by their employers. This is not good,” he said.
“We are very optimistic in
trying to eliminate cases of abuse,” he added.
Torres said Filipino household
workers are expected to resume work in Jordan by the end of April.
“We will meet again (with the
Jordanian side) to put what we have agreed on in writing. I am sure
our Labor Ministry in the Philippines will agree to lift the
suspension,” Torres said.
He also complained that “some
employers let the (work and residency) permits expire and never
renew them, so the workers are forced to pay a lot of money because
of their overstay.”
The two countries also agreed
that Filipino domestic workers should earn at least $400 a month,
instead of the current monthly wages of $150 dollars, the ambassador
said.
“That’s the general policy of
the Philippines government, not only for Jordan,” said Torres.
Some eight million Filipinos,
or nearly a 10th of the population, work abroad, including around
15,000 in Jordan.
--AFP
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