Ethiopia reverses ban
on workers with MOU

Salaries may rise

Ethiopia will reverse a ban it imposed on its citizens forbidding them from working in Lebanon, as it is expected to sign a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Labor (MoL) in two months.

The new agreement will include terms regarding the recruitment process, the labor contract, means of resolving conflicts between workers and employers, and a possible salary increase.

Ethiopia forbade its citizens from working in the country starting in November due to differences between the two countries over the terms of the new MoU.

Ethiopia’s ban directly impacted some 600 domestic workers' recruitment agencies – and 2,000 families that those businesses support. Business at those agencies fell by 90 percent as a result of the ban, according to Ali Al Amin, Chairman of The Syndicate of House Workers Recruiting Agencies.

The ban did not affect workers whose work permit and residency are still in force.

Around 90 percent of local domestic workers come from Ethiopia. “The low cost ($1,000) of recruiting Ethiopian workers, compared to other nationalities, explains the high demand for them,” Al Amin said.

The Philippines has also called on Lebanon to update the agreement for its citizens’ working in Lebanon.

Lebanon is reaching out to new countries for domestic workers. “Uganda is among these countries,” Al Amin said.

Reported by Gisele Khalaf