Philippines lifts deployment ban

Bilateral protocol to protect domestic workers

The Philippines has recently lifted its six-year ban on the employment of its citizens as domestic workers in Lebanon. It said it will soon raise the ban imposed on the admission of new workers into the country.

There are around 31,000 Filipino workers locally, according to the Philippines Labor Department. Under the ban, these workers were not able to visit their country occasionally, out of fear that they would not be allowed back into Beirut.

The embargo was enforced out of concerns about poor working conditions in the absence of legal protection for domestic workers. The decision to cancel the ban came in the wake of a bilateral cooperation protocol regulating the recruitment and employment of these workers.

The protocol, signed in early 2011, outlined the specific measures that both countries should undertake to ensure the rights and welfare of Filipino domestic workers. The protocol had set the minimum monthly salary at $400. It also explained provisions on placement, minimum age, working hours, and access to conflict resolution mechanisms and complaints procedures. A standard employment contract was initiated upon the terms spelled out in the protocol.