Wage woes for maids

By SOMAN BABY
Published: 7th September 2006

A PHILIPPINE government proposal to double the current minimum wage for Filipina housemaids in the Gulf is not legally binding on Bahrain, a Labour Ministry official said yesterday. There is no minimum wage for foreign workers in Bahrain, said ministry international and public relations director Sabah Al Dossary.

“As such, a Philippine government proposal to double the minimum wage of housemaids to BD150 per month has no legal standing,” he told the GDN.

Talks are underway at the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), a government agency responsible for the monitoring of Filipino workers overseas, to increase the minimum wage from $200 (BD75) to $400 (BD151).

By SOMAN BABY
Published: 7th September 2006

“As such, a Philippine government proposal to double the minimum wage of housemaids to BD150 per month has no legal standing,” he told the GDN.

Philippine Embassy labour attaché Alejandro Santos told the GDN earlier this week that the proposal was being taken seriously since maids are the “lowest paid workers” in the region. Housemaids have the lowest salaries, unlike their counterparts in Europe and countries in Asia (such as Hong Kong and Singapore) where they earn between $500 (BD189) and $1,500 (BD567), he said.

Mr Santos added that in the Middle East, the number of abuse cases recorded is the highest.

The Philippines government increased the minimum salary of Filipina housemaids in the Middle East to BD75 in September last year.

At the time, the embassy received complaints from several employers and recruiters in Bahrain saying that a monthly salary of BD50 a month was sufficient.

But the embassy insisted that employers must agree to the minimum wage, otherwise it would not process contracts.

Mr Al Dossary said there were hundreds of Filipino housemaids working in Bahrain at a monthly salary of BD50. “The salary of housemaids is an issue between the sponsor and the employee,” he noted.

The issue of minimum wage for workers, including maids, from Asian countries was discussed at the 14th Asia-Pacific Labour Ministers’ Conference held in Busan, South Korea, from August 28 to September 1.

Mr Al Dossary, who accompanied Labour Minister Dr Majeed Al Alawi to the meeting, said the GCC labour ministers refused to accept any such directive from the labour-exporting countries

“The Bahrain government’s stand is that it cannot accept any minimum wage for foreign workers in a free market economy,” he added.

Referring to the increased number of abuse cases involving maids, Mr Al Dossary said the ministry always took action against such employers, when cases were brought to its attention.

“Though housemaids do not come under the purview of the labour law, such cases are handled under the civil law,” he added.

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