BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Labor Ministry flatly rejected Monday a proposal calling for the creation of a union for migrant domestic workers.
The Labor Ministry dismissed the proposal submitted by the National Federation of Labor Unions earlier this month, saying that it would not consider the formation of the “illegal” syndicate.
“Advanced laws would solve the problems that the [migrant worker] sector is suffering from, not the formation of groups under the guise of a syndicate,” the statement read.
Currently, the employment of migrant domestic workers in Lebanon is governed by a sponsorship, or "kafala" system, which has been widely criticized by human rights groups who liken it to slavery.
Under the system, migrant workers must be sponsored by a Lebanese employer in order for them to work in the country.
But since they are not protected under the labor law, the kafala system gives sponsors leeway to impose harsh working conditions with little fear of reprimand.
In its statement Monday, the Labor Ministry said that it was attempting to improve work conditions for migrant domestic workers through a draft law submitted to the Cabinet.
The bill, which is in accordance with International Labor Organization’s Domestic Worker Convention, dictates the necessity of a written contract between the employer and the employee.
The law also prevents employers who have previously mistreated migrant domestic workers from hiring a new worker.
Other articles of the law stipulate the necessity of providing insurance, annual vacation, suitable living conditions, fair compensation, and the right to employee privacy.
The law has not yet been ratified by Parliament.
According to the ILO, Lebanon is home to over 250,000 female migrant domestic workers, the majority of whom come from Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, the Philippines and Bangladesh to work as housemaids.
Rights groups have complained that employers often withhold pay, lock workers in their homes and confiscate their passports, among other abuses.
The harsh living conditions have pushed some migrant workers to commit suicide. Others have died or been seriously injured while trying to escape the employers’ residences.
In 2008, Human Rights Watch recorded one migrant domestic worker death per week from unnatural causes, including suicide.
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