A striking feature of Sri Lankan foreign employment seekers is that female domestic aides or housemaids form a predominant group among them. In 2014, Sri Lankans who sought employment as housemaids numbered 88,661. More than 90 percent of them are based in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE, Qatar, Lebanon, Jordan, Bahrain and Oman are the main destination countries.

File photo: A group of Sri Lankan housemaids who had been stranded in a Middle Eastern country await transport to go home after they arrived at the Bandaranaike International Airport.

The flip side of migration depicts human rights violations, to which a segment of workers are subjected to every year. Although the complainants have averaged less than 10 percent of the total number of housemaids who left the country during 2008-2013, they have amounted to a few thousand every year. In 2013, the complaints numbered 8,956. The domestic aide is susceptible to abuse due to her gender, her status as an unskilled worker and the fact that she is confined to her employer’s residence. Therefore, it is no surprise that domestic aides constitute not only the majority group among female complainants but also the majority among all migrant workers of both sexes. Their grievances range from moderate to severe ill-treatment. The severe forms of abuse gain much media coverage when workers return home after having worked under conditions bordering on slavery.

The repercussions of working as domestic aides in the Middle East have to be weighed against their right to work and the crucial contribution they make to the economy by bringing in foreign exchange to the country. In recent years, the number of workers seeking employment as domestic aides has fallen. However, they still form a sizable percentage of migrant workers. In this context, it is necessary to evaluate existing national mechanisms in place and explore avenues that would either prevent or minimise abuse. Strengthening the pre-migration process and mechanisms available for providing redress in the destination country and harnessing available international and regional mechanisms will promote safe migration.

Streamlining pre-migration process
The measures should include the enforcement of stricter recruitment criteria, strengthening the language component in the training programme and widening dissemination of information on recruitment agencies.

(i) Enforcing a minimal educational requirement
The Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) does not stipulate a minimum educational requirement for domestic workers. At the beginning of the programme, a functional literacy test is administered to determine their level of competency. In general, women who are more educated are better able to stand up for their rights. Therefore, the SLBFE should take steps to stipulate a minimum educational qualification.

(ii) Assessing emotional maturity of candidates
It is ironical to expect the least qualified domestic aide to possess the qualities of resilience to cope with the hardships that she generally experiences in her day-to-day work. Workers who have undergone abuse could suffer from depression and other emotional maladies to varying degrees that would invariably not only adversely affect them but their immediate family members. In this context, it is important to pre-screen prospective workers in terms of their emotional maturity. Personality profiling tests and emotional intelligence tests need to be administered to identify resilient workers.

(iii) Increasing age limit
Following the execution of Rizana Nafeek in January 2013, the minimum age for employment was increased to 25 for domestic workers proceeding to Saudi Arabia. This salutary requirement should apply to all domestic workers proceeding to other Middle Eastern countries because those in their mid-twenties have more maturity and worldly experience.

(iv) Strengthening language component  in training programme
It is compulsory for prospective domestic workers leaving for the Middle East to undergo a three-week training programme. (Workers proceeding to Saudi Arabia are also required to obtain the National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) level 3 Certificate for the post of ‘domestic housekeeping assistant’.) The training programme includes a component on foreign language training. Although Arabic is taught to prospective workers, three weeks is not sufficient to have a working knowledge of the language unless it was previously studied to some extent. Prospective workers need to have a sufficient knowledge of Arabic to read instruction manuals to prevent work related accidents and also to communicate effectively. The SLBFE should consider the feasibility of setting up Arabic teaching centres with provision for the assessment of candidates’ proficiency.

(v) Scrutinising prospective employer’s socio-economic status
The responsibility to treat the domestic worker kindly and with due respect lies on the employer. Although it cannot be said conclusively, it may be assumed that an employer who not only has a permanent income but also holds a dignified position will be more sympathetic towards his or her domestic worker. It is worthwhile for the SLBFE to analyse the co-relation between different categories of complaints and the socio-economic profile of the employers to determine the categories of employers who abuse workers.

(Vi) Dissemination of information on registered agencies and “star grade agencies”
The SLBFE grades recruitment agencies using a points system based on criteria such as number of complaints received, settlement of complaints etc. Agencies are ‘star graded’ from five to one according to the system. Publication of a list of all registered agencies and those agencies which have obtained star grades and making them available at Divisional Secretariats and at all main post offices will enable prospective domestic workers to be aware of the best agencies in their locality.

Addressing violations of rights
Three factors determine to a great extent the degree of protection domestic workers receive in Middle Eastern countries. One factor is the scope of legal protection offered to migrant domestic workers in the host country. The second is the quality of services offered by Sri Lankan embassies. The third is the role played by the domestic worker herself.

The degree of protection
The focal point of contact for a migrant worker is the Sri Lankan embassy. Embassy officials have to work in the socio-legal environment of Middle Eastern countries. Therefore, the degree of success of securing rights for domestic workers is dependent, to a large extent, on prevalent laws and regulations and their effective implementation in the host country.

Of late, a few countries of the Middle East have taken positive steps in granting basic rights to domestic workers. Jordan became the first country in the region to include domestic workers under its labour laws in 2008. In September 2009, the Ministry of Labour issued a regulation specifying specific labour protection that would apply to domestic workers. In 2012, Bahrain passed a new labour law (Labour Law 36) that grants few rights to domestic workers such as being entitled to a contract and vacation leave. Similarly in 2013, Saudi Arabia adopted a regulation which defines the rights and duties of both employer and employee and imposes penalties on both parties if the terms of the regulation are violated. Kuwait became the latest country to adopt a new law granting domestic workers enforceable labour rights in June 2015. How well a domestic worker’s rights are protected in the future would depend on the effective implementation of the regulations.

Immigration sponsorship laws of the Gulf countries also increase the vulnerability of migrant domestic workers to exploitation as under the ‘Kafala’ system, workers’ right to be employed and remain in the host country is tied to the sponsorship of their employer.

Improving quality of services at Lankan Embassies
Non-payment of agreed salaries and breach of employment contract are common complaints received from domestic workers. The first handicap is that the compulsory employment contract, which specifies the terms of employment, and which is signed prior to departure has no legal enforceability in the host country although it is used as a basis of negotiation by embassy officials and foreign agents/officials to secure workers’ rights. Bilateral agreements pave the way for offering legal protection to migrant workers. For the first time, in 2014, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Sri Lanka and Saudi Arabia. The MOU seeks to monitor work conditions of 12 categories of domestic workers such as housemaids and drivers who are in the employ of individuals. (Sri Lanka has already signed agreements with Qatar, the UAE, Jordan, Bahrain and Oman regarding migrant employees.) The challenge facing the state is to enter into bilateral agreements that are specific to domestic workers with all major destination countries of the Middle East.

Stories told by domestic workers which are reported in case studies and newspapers have revealed deficiencies in embassies. Some have alleged that embassy officials were indifferent to their complaints. Although the allegations were made by disgruntled workers, the fact that such allegations have been made underlines the need to have more stringent supervision of embassy officials. It is further necessary to ascertain the degree to which labour welfare officers in embassies are overburdened with work as they have to cater to the needs of not only domestic aides but all migrant workers. In general, the largest number of complaints from domestic aides is received from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. In this context, the number of labour welfare officers attached to the embassies in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia should be increased as a matter of priority and the number of labour welfare officers attached to other embassies in the Middle East should be increased taking into consideration the workload in each embassy. And as an incentive to promote diligence, the SLBFE should reward, as done in the private sector, those officers who are proactive and successful in obtaining the best redress for workers.

Safe houses which are maintained by embassies provide a sanctuary for runaway workers. More resources are needed to provide better facilities. In this connection, the SLBFE should consider the feasibility of collaborating with the National Lotteries Board to conduct a lottery to generate funds which can be channelled to the Workers Welfare Fund.

If an abuse takes place, it is the primary responsibility of the domestic aide to report the matter to the relevant authorities prior to leaving the host country as otherwise it leaves room for complaints to be challenged on grounds of credibility.

International mechanisms
The Convention concerning decent work for domestic workers ILO Convention No 189) came into force on September 5, 2013. The convention is a significant step towards protecting domestic workers’ labour rights as it aims to provide labour protection to domestic workers commensurate with other workers. Ratification of the Convention will require states to modify their national laws accordingly to be in line with the Convention.

Another mechanism is the Colombo Process that was established in 2003 with the objective of providing a forum for Asian labour sending countries to share experiences and make recommendations for the effective management of overseas employment programmes. What is noteworthy is that the ‘Colombo Process’ has also been successful in collaborating with destination countries. Member countries should collectively lobby for uniform employment contracts that reflect international labour standards. Member countries also have the opportunity for lobbying for the ratification of the Domestic Workers Convention as none of the Middle East countries has ratified the Convention as yet.

Conclusion
As an unskilled female worker working under an individual employer, the domestic aide is the most susceptible to exploitation among workers. Although reforms for strengthening migrant domestic workers’ rights have been slow to emerge in the Middle Eastern countries, some positive developments (in the form of new regulations) have taken place in recent times. Labour receiving countries should not only effectively implement these regulations but also identify the lapses in the regulations that discriminate against domestic workers and take remedial action accordingly. Introducing more stringent supervisory mechanisms in the pre-migration process and strengthening facilities available at Sri Lankan embassies in the host countries will ensure that those who decide to work overseas as domestic aides have a better chance of having their rights protected.

(The writer, attorney-at-law, is a human rights researcher with a special focus on protecting vulnerable groups. She has an LLB from the University of Colombo and an LLM in International Human Rights Law from the University of Essex.)