The Philippines is absolutely justified in ensuring the more than 10 million of its citizens working overseas are treated well and do not fall prey to the scourge of human trafficking. However, overreacting to that risk can also be a mistake, as shown by the strict new application of rules for Filipinos that is preventing some from taking domestic jobs in the UAE.
As The National reported yesterday, the new labour attache at the Philippines overseas labour office in Abu Dhabi, Ophelia Almenario, has targeted small recruiting companies that bring in Filipinos for cleaning jobs but then reprocess them to work as domestic staff, including living with the families who employ them. Although she accepted she had no proof of this practice, she said the Philippines had adopted a policy of being very strict about such job applications.
The Philippine overseas labour office stopped verifying contracts in the first week of June after a new standard contract for domestic staff produced by the UAE Ministry of Interior took effect. But the law in the Philippines means workers cannot take up jobs without a verified contract.
Nobody should doubt the good intent behind this initiative or the dangers of human trafficking, but the UAE already does much to ensure the welfare of its expatriate workforce. The standard contract for domestic staff is just one example of this but Filipinos who find themselves exploited also have other protections, including calling hotlines to get help and shelters for those who have to leave abusive situations.
Nor can one ignore the enormous benefits enjoyed by the vast majority of the UAE’s expatriate workers – including nearly one million Filipinos – who are able to send remittances home to support their families. By the Philippines overseas labour office insisting on implementing their own domestic worker contracts, with a minimum wage and minimum working conditions, many Filipinos are denied the option of working in the UAE. Filipinos, more than most nationalities, enjoy a strong safety net to protect them, but sometimes their government can overstep the mark and disadvantage those it seeks to protect.
