Lifting Jordan housemaid ban caught in a snag

Jordanian recruitment agencies say that conditions introduced by the Sri Lankan authorities have stalled an agreement that would have lifted a ban on sending Sri Lankan domestic helpers to Jordan.

The Sri Lankan government imposed the ban in July over the non-payment of Sri Lankan domestic helpers’ salaries.

According to Khalid Hseinat, who heads the Domestic Helpers Recruitment Agencies Association (DHRAA), the conditions contradict Jordan’s labour aw and regulations governing the recruitment of domestic helpers.

“The amendments proposed by the embassy stipulate that recruitment agencies must provide insurance policies from firms accredited by the embassy. They also obligate employers to contact the embassy when any helpers leave their workplace in order to start repatriation process,” he was quoted as saying by the Jordan Times.

Another contradiction, he said, was a stipulation that domestic helpers could resort to their embassy if employers violate the terms of the employment contract whereas Jordanian law says such matters have to handled by the judiciary.

The embassy also proposed that domestic helpers be given the right to cancel the contract if their employers fail to fulfil their obligations or violate terms stipulated in the contract, he said.

“The suggestions do not state what the employers’ rights are if the worker does not abide by the contract, but we believe that this issue must be handled by the court,” Hseinat was quoted as saying, Gulf Today reports.