AMMAN - The Ministry of Labour is drafting “drastic” changes to regulations governing the recruitment of domestic helpers in a bid to end all criticism of abuse of this group of guest labourers.

Meanwhile, the ministry said it has solved a weeks-old problem involving Sri Lankan home workers stranded after they left their employers and fell into legal trouble due to accumulated overstay fines.

A top official said on Monday the new regulations will ensure more protection for workers’ rights.

Responding to a report issued by the Human Rights Watch (HRW), Labour Minister Mahmoud Al Kafawin told The Jordan Times Monday that the ministry staff has been reviewing the regulations in order to address flaws and ambiguity in the current instructions.

“We must admit that we have a problem but what is more important is to work towards solving it,” the minister said in an interview at his office.

Released on Friday, the HRW report said: “Jordan should immediately allow 24 Sri Lankan domestic workers, many of whom were allegedly abused by their employers, to return home… The workers have been stranded in Amman since January 2011, unable to pay government-imposed fines and threatened with eviction.”

Consequently, representatives from the ministry as well as the recruitment agencies met with the workers, who have been provided shelter since January 24 by a Sri Lankan woman who serves at a church in Madaba.

The all-female group had refused to stay in their embassy’s basement, where more than 80 others have been for over 18 months in legal limbo due to pending cases over unpaid overstay fines and expired work permits.

Following the meeting, the representatives recommended exempting the workers from the accumulated overstay fines in order to pave the way for their return home.

The minister said the ministry will address the interior ministry in this regard in order to take action, expecting the exemption decision to be issued by Tuesday.

On January 24, a total of 37 Sri Lankan domestic helpers who had fled their employers’ homes for various reasons left their embassy over what they described as “inhumane” living conditions in the building’s basement and sought assistance at a legal centre.

Currently, 24 of the women remain in the country after the centre succeeded in facilitating the repatriation of 13 workers.

Kafawin said the amendments to the recruitment regulations will include obligating employers to open a bank account for their helpers to deposit their salaries. The ministry will have the authority to check these accounts in order to make sure the workers’ salaries are being paid in due time.

The ministry’s approval to the recruitment of a work contract between the domestic helpers and the employer will also hinge on the employer’s approval to allow a female inspector from the ministry to check on the worker’s living condition as needed and upon complaints.

Moreover, according to the minister, employers, when applying for the renewal of work permits, will have to bring the employee to the ministry where a female labour inspector will interview her separately in order to ensure that she has been receiving proper treatment and that her financial rights are met.

“We understand the complications and the sensitivity of this issue as it involves the privacy of employer’s houses; however, we will not accept violations to the workers’ rights and will ensure protection for all parties,” the minister said.

In the meantime, Linda Kallash, director of Tamkeen Legal Centre, which has helped the workers, told The Jordan Times that a private tourism company offered 20 tickets to Sri Lanka free of charge for the workers.

Their financial rights will also be pursued after they leave Jordan.

“Some of the workers have filed lawsuits against their employers for unpaid salaries or abuse. Six of the centre’s lawyers are handling these cases with the relevant courts on behalf of the workers,” Kallash said.

According to interior ministry regulations, foreigners without a valid residency permit are subject to a fine of JD1.5 per day, which they must pay before being allowed to leave the country.

According to the unified standard employment contract for domestic workers and a 2009 labour ministry bylaw, the employer is responsible for applying for the worker’s permits, and for paying the fines if he or she failed to do so.

The employer is also responsible if the worker leaves because she was not paid, or if the employer failed to provide her with a ticket to go back home after she has completed two years of work and subsequently fell out of status.

“Nevertheless, the Interior Ministry’s Residency and Foreigners’ Affairs Department has failed to hold to account employers who failed to pay the fines,” the HRW report said.

“All of this will end, once and for all,” the minister said.

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