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SAUDI ARABIA: New Bill Fails to Protect Domestic Workers, HRW Says

Katie Mattern

WASHINGTON, Jul 10 2009 (IPS) - Despite a bill passed by Saudi Arabia's Shura Council on Wednesday, a prominent New York-based human rights group is asking for more protection for the estimated 1.5 million domestic workers in the country.

In a release Friday, Human Rights Watch (HRW) asked for that the bill be revised to fill gaps in protection for domestic workers to meet international standards. The bill is going from the Shura Council, an appointed consultative body, to the cabinet, which can still make changes on the bill, before it becomes a law.

This bill has been in development for a number of years and "would require employers to give domestic workers at least nine hours of rest every day, suitable accommodation and rest breaks," according to the press release.

However, according to HRW, the bill also contains a number of "vague provisions" that could leave workers open to more abuses that would force them to obey all of their employers' orders and provide a "legitimate reason" to ever leave their workplace. As the language now stands some international groups like HRW are concerned that this will allow employers to basically enslave their employees.

"The Shura Council finally ended its paralysis on these desperately needed protections," said Nisha Varia, deputy director of the Women's Rights Division of Human Rights Watch in the press release.

"Now the king and the cabinet need to remove the flawed provisions and make sure the final law can stand up to international scrutiny," she said.

There are an estimated 1.5 million women employed as domestic workers in Saudi Arabia – from countries like Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the Philippines, many of whom have been trafficked into the country.

According to the U.S. Department of State's annual Human Rights Report, a large number of men and women have been trafficked into the country to serve as domestic workers, and there are major concerns about the number of women who are trafficked into the country as sex workers.

There is currently no law in Saudi Arabia that prohibits trafficking for sexual exploitation.

The country's current labour laws do not apply to domestic workers, which has allowed for a large number of abuses and even enslavements by employers.

"There have been some cases of assault against foreign workers resulting in physical injuries or death and reports of widespread worker abuse," the 2008 U.S. Department of State Human Rights Report on Saudi Arabia says.

"The government reported no criminal investigations, prosecutions, convictions, or sentences for trafficking offenses, and there were no penalties prescribed for particular offences."

These laws also deny them rights that are given to other workers in the country, including rights to "a weekly day of rest, limits to hours of work and overtime pay" according to the HRW release.

HRW previously released a report on this issue in 2008, entitled "'As If I Am Not Human': Abuses Against Asian Domestic Workers in Saudi Arabia." The report documented the plight of domestic workers, including the multiple occurrences of working 18 hours a day for seven days a week. It also discussed how the workers had little to no power to collect their wages when labour disputes occurred.

Complaints about these kinds of abuses against domestic workers are rampant, and received by both Saudi authorities and the missions in the country, according to HRW. The complaints ranged from labour exploitation and abuse to excessive workloads and unpaid wages for anywhere from a few months to 10 years.

"In addition, Human Rights Watch research found that many domestic workers are restricted to their workplaces, sometimes locked in and forbidden to leave," said the release.

Until the latest bill, there had been no help for domestic workers. But even the new bill does not completely protect them from the wide range of abuses that they have been suffering from, HRW says.

"This bill is a step forward, but Saudi Arabia needs to strengthen the protections and make sure they are enforced," said Varia.

"Comprehensive reforms in immigration policies and police response to violence against domestic workers are also necessary," she added.

HRW also said that there is a high chance that there could be more cases of abuses that are unreported, "given domestic workers' isolation in private homes, employers' ability to have workers summarily deported, and migrants' lack of information about their rights."

Another problem facing the domestic workers, according to HRW, is Saudi Arabia's 'kafala,' or sponsorship system, under which these workers' visas are tied to their employers, giving them complete control over their employees.

"Employers can deny workers the ability to change jobs or to leave the country," the release said.

"HRW interviewed dozens of domestic workers who said their employers had forced them to work against their will for months or years," added HRW. "Other domestic workers were subjected to physical and sexual abuse."

There are also examples of workers being arrested after filing complaints against employers for these abuses on charges that vary from theft to witchcraft. However there is not much chance for them to appeal these charges due to their status as migrant workers.

HRW has been pushing for a change in the labour law for years. In their report last year, the group asked that the Saudi government extend its current laws to domestic workers so that they can be protected against this slavery and abuse.