Philippines sends 'sick' maids to Gulf: official
Many housemaids coming from the Philippines to work in the oil-rich Gulf have been found to be sick in the absence of measures to examine them before they arrive, a region al health official was quoted on Thursday as saying, Dr Tawfiq Khowja, director general of the executive office of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) health ministers, said the problem emerged after the Philippine government decided to stop dealing with authorized health centers in the GCC.
Quoted by the Saudi daily Makka, he said Manila’s decision meant that GCC health centres could no longer examine the domestic workers coming from the Philippines and that regional states have to rely on medical reports issued by Philippine health centres.
“Many of those centres are forging medical reports issued for those maids and other domestic workers…this has led to a large increase in Philippine domestic workers who are sick or are unfit for work,” he said.
“We have received many reports about Gulf families complaining that they have discovered that their maids are suffering from diseases including diabetes and high blood pressure and that they have to be taken to hospitals quite often…most of those reports said the employers found that their maids are not fit for that job.”
Khowja said the executive office has reported the problem to the Riyadh-based GCC secretariat to take the necessary measures.
This is interesting... Wonder what measures they could take ? Is the problem as bad as stated by the DG ?
Lhong2x: I think the issue is that test so. The home country are being manipulated.
Yes you can send them home but what about the costs incurred
each worker for whatever position and from whichever country they will come from that will be working in GCC country should undergo medical from their home country. And from which GCC country they will be working before they can obtain a permanent working visa/permit, so how come you will say that they are sick? if the worker are coming from Philippines, India, Nepal, Indonesia and other poor or a third world country with a lot a poverty, corruption and with terrible government system. If ever a worker bribe for their medical exam from their home country because it is the system mostly being done from there. Another medical examination will be done here in GCC before they can start working. if a worker is sick the employer can send them back to their country because they are unfit to work, simply as that.
dyani: You are absolutely right. When maid servants jumped off tall buildings in the kingdom, the news printed the following day in the newspapers stated "she was having family issues back home!"
When it comes to these unfit to work moaning by these so-called oil rich countries, the news are all around the universe very much publicize.....but when it comes to them abusing all their household helpers/workers whatever nationality it is.....rest assured everything will be numbed and there will always be a news block-out. Hypocrisy and corruption has always been a great partners. :)
well this is nothing new. Phil. Govt is at fault with a lot of things. Too many rotten politicians, a lot of left and right bribes etc etc. With cases of sick maids, I do not think they are sick when they arrived at work destination, as POEA agency which regulates labors going out of the Philippines have put in strict measures, and is being monitored by a third party NGO to make sure there are no illegal dealings going on. WT might be right, they get sick at job location in many factors, one would be air sickness (most of them came from provinces, which is not used to long travels) 2nd will be extreme heat - 3rd would be home sick and list goes on. @Accha - yes that is a common occurrence in my home country, we call it "Palakasan System."
That is not all. Some of them get appointed at jobs of which they have no knowledge just because they have the right connections in the Middle East or the work visa has been bought through and agent in the home country. I saw a Warehouse Supervisor joining the perfumery & cosmetics warehouse of my company who was a fisherman in the Philippines! He got the job as his brother-in-law was the secretary of the MD. I supported him throughout during his 3-year stay in the Kingdom and we became very good friends.
Yes, brit, they need a "fit for work" certificate to enter Qatar on a work visa. But the medical tests are done in the Philippines which is known for being a corrupt country.
But don't they have medicals once they get here ?
Maybe it's their work in the GCC that makes them "sick"?