Workshop to Enhance Shelters for Female Domestic Workers Held
Image Caption: The workshop receives a number of officials to discuss the mechanisms to enhance shelter houses serving female domestic workers. — Courtesy photo
RIYADH — The Ministry of Labor and Social Development conducted a workshop on Monday at the ministry’s HQ that aims to develop work mechanisms at the shelter houses serving female domestic workers, in particular.
The workshop was attended by a number of officials from the Ministries of Interior and Foreign Affairs and the Human Rights Commission along with representatives of the shelter houses and dispute settlement committees for female domestic workers.
Adnan Al-Naeem, deputy minister for customer services and labor relations of the ministry, said the workshop was held in a bid to enhance the sheltering centers, face internal and external challenges and seek privatization of these centers.
It would raise the effectiveness of these centers and improve services provided to female domestic helpers when they leave their sponsors, applying the best practices in collaboration with related entities, added Al-Naeem.
Al-Naeem emphasized that the maintenance of shelter centers comes within the Islamic teachings that urge good treatment and care for workers.
The ministry is keen to protect the contractual relationship between labor parties and the rights of domestic helpers, as well as maintain the bilateral relations between the Kingdom and labor-exporting countries as per the Saudi vision 2030 and the NTP 2020, he said.
Al-Naeem pointed out that paying undivided attention to sheltering runaway maids would stop black market.
Additionally, the workshop addressed the most pressing issues that encounter the centers for sheltering female domestic workers, giving a significant emphasis to increasing coordination among the concerned entities.
During the workshop, the participants agreed on the need to enhance the role of foreign embassies in the Kingdom to reach organizational, procedural, operational, technical and legislative solutions that the ministry and related entities can adopt.
According to the ministry, such coordination would cause a paradigm shift in improving the performance of shelter houses and achieving stability in the domestic labor sector. — SG
(Source: SaudiGazette.com.sa)