Clampdown on ‘hourly maids’

Written by: Raji Unnikrishnan
Employment agencies illegally offering housemaids by the hour face a crackdown from authorities, despite a leading workers’ rights activist’s calls to legalise the practice. Responding to recent reports of agency cars driving around Manama advertising ‘housemaid services on hourly basis’, Labour Ministry Under-Secretary Sabah Al Dossary told the GDN that these businesses were circumventing the law by cutting deals with third-party cleaning companies. Continue reading

accommodation safety stressed

A Labour Ministry official yesterday urged workers to opt for certified labour accommodation so that the authorities can intervene and take necessary action during emergencies. Ministry’s Assistant Undersecretary Dr Mohammed Al Ansari said the ten people who died yesterday in Riffa fire were ‘irregular/illegal workers’ in the Kingdom. Continue reading