HRW: Many Filipina Domestic Workers Face Abuse in Oman

MANILA: Many Filipina domestic workers, like their counterparts from other countries, end up being abused in Oman after they are lured by recruiters with the promises of decent salaries and good working conditions, a latest report has pointed out.

Human Rights Watch (HRW), in a report titled I Was Sold: Abuse and Exploitation of Migrant Domestic Workers in Oman, estimates that at least 130,000 migrant domestic workers are employed in the Gulf state.

The rights group, which interviewed 59 female domestic workers in Oman in May 2015, highlighted that some employers are good and kind to their workers, but others abuse and force them to work in exploitative conditions. “It is clear that abuses are widespread and that they are generally carried out with impunity,” InterAksyon quoted HRW as saying.

The abuses begin when employers confiscate the domestic workers’ passports, “even though Oman’s government prohibits it,” the report said.

Marisa L., 36, told HRW that her employer confiscated her passport upon her arrival. “She told me, ‘Give me your passport and I will give it back to you when you finish your contract.’”

Employers do not pay the domestic workers their full salaries — if at all, in some cases, highlighted the news portal.

HRW reportedly said that recruitment agents promise domestic helps decent working conditions in Oman, and many sign contracts stipulating good salaries before leaving their home countries. But upon arrival, many find that they have to work for less pay than promised and under worse conditions.

HRW reportedly cited many of its Filipina interviewees as saying the initial contract they signed in the Philippines provided that they would be paid 160 OMR (PhP19,500) per month. When they arrived in Oman, however, their employers said they would receive a lower wage, often in the range of 90 to 120 OMR (PhP11,000 to PhP15,000).

The domestic workers are also forced to work long hours without any breaks or days off. “I had the flu and a fever, but they didn’t let me stop working,” Jocelyn E, 28, reportedly said.

Maricel P. also had her own story. “Because of overwork, I became sick. [Yet] I was allowed to rest for only two hours but [then] had to work.”

The domestic workers are not given enough food, with some scolded or beaten if they ask for more. Others have to make do with spoiled food. They lack a proper place to sleep, as well. They are also sexually, physically, and verbally abused, the report said.

“Madam would say all the time that I don’t have a brain. That I’m dirty,” Marisa L reportedly told HRW.

Jocelyn E. was called “Filipino bitch” and “crazy.”

“Several workers described conditions that amount to forced labor under international law. Many described employers beating them, withholding their salaries, threatening to kill them, falsely accusing them of crimes when they sought to leave, or retaliating against them by beating them for trying to escape abuse. Several workers said that their employers behaved as though they owned them — claiming that the recruitment fees they paid to secure workers’ services were in fact a price paid to acquire them as property,” the HRW report read. “In some cases, women worked for large, extended families or in multiple houses.”

The women are reportedly isolated and kept apart from possible sources of support. Communication with the outside world is restricted, and they are confined in the house. Since employers in Oman act as the visa sponsors of migrant workers under the kafala system, they have huge control over the migrant workers, the report pointed out.

“Migrant workers cannot work for a new employer without the permission of their current employer, even if they complete their contract and even when their employer is abusive. Moreover, employers can have a worker’s visa canceled at any time. Workers who leave their jobs without the consent of their employer can be punished with fines, deportation, and reentry bans,” HRW reportedly stated.

In particular, domestic workers fleeing abusive employers “have very few options for physical or legal protection.”

“Some workers said when they reported abuse to their recruitment agencies, agents confined them, beat them, and forced them to work for new families against their will,” the HRW report read. “Some domestic workers who turned to the police for help said officers simply returned them, against their will, to their employers or recruitment agencies. They said the police did not follow up, and in several cases, domestic workers said their employers beat them after the police sent them back. Some workers said their employers filed, or threatened to file, trumped-up theft charges against them when they asked for their salaries or fled abuse.”

While the report noted that countries like the Philippines set some protections for their domestic workers in Oman, like minimum salaries and sanctions for “abusive or deceptive” local agencies, “they can do little to enforce these protections once their nationals are in the country.”

“These are no substitute for strong government action by Oman,” HRW was quoted as saying by InterAksyon.

(Source: FilipinoTimes.ae)