RIYADH: The Philippine Embassy has said that it is not easy to bring Filipino domestic workers, also called household service workers (HSW), to Saudi Arabia quickly because of procedures and also shortage of maids in the country.
The embassy and the consulate are being accused of delaying the approval of the applications for recruitment of domestic workers but that it’s not true.
“It takes about four months to bring a domestic worker,” Ambassador Ezzedin H. Tago said, adding that he himself has experienced this because there’s a procedure to be followed.
In an interview with an Arabic daily, the envoy said the current procedure being implemented in the recruitment of domestic helps is in accordance with streamlined operations.
He said that at the moment, the embassy and the Philippine consulate general in Jeddah could only approve 300 contracts daily.
“There are 150 recruitment offices in the Saudi capital and each one wants the embassy and the consulate general in Jeddah to expedite approval of the applications,” he said.
He said that this is not possible because “we want to organize the hiring process due to our knowledge of the status of employment and the ability of these offices on labor recruitment of domestic helpers.”
One reason for the delay is the fact that domestic helps are not always available in the Philippines for recruitment or deployment in the Kingdom. This is because the Philippines is not only supplying Saudi Arabia with domestic workers but other countries like Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates as well.
The Filipino diplomat said that it’s not easy for the Philippines to send and deploy domestic workers in the Kingdom in a specific time. “I don’t think that the complaints against the embassy and the consulate are reasonable.”
At present, there are 810,000 Filipino workers in Saudi Arabia, he added.
Filipino maids’ arrival delayed by shortage
Filipino maids’ arrival delayed by shortage
Saudi project clears 2,676 explosive devices in Yemen
- Ousama Al-Gosaibi, Project Masam’s managing director, said the initiative had cleared a total of 544,187 mines since it began in 2018
RIYADH: Members of Saudi Arabia’s Project Masam removed 2,108 explosive devices from various regions of Yemen last week.
The total included 2,484 unexploded ordnances, 149 anti-tank mines, 17 anti-personnel mines and 26 improvised explosive devices, according to a recent report.
The explosives were planted indiscriminately and posed a threat to civilians, including children, women and the elderly.
The demining operations took place in Marib, Aden, Jouf, Shabwa, Taiz, Hodeidah, Lahij, Sanaa, Al-Bayda, Al-Dhale and Saada.
Ousama Al-Gosaibi, Project Masam’s managing director, said the initiative had cleared a total of 544,187 mines since it began in 2018.
Teams are tasked with clearing villages, roads and schools to facilitate the safe movement of civilians and delivery of humanitarian aid.
The project trains local demining engineers, provides them with modern equipment, and offers support to Yemenis injured by the devices.
