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Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said on Friday that “the Lebanese Council of State, the highest administrative court in the country, has dealt a severe blow to the rights of migrant domestic workers by suspending a new standard employment contract.”
The two organizations indicated in a statement that “the unified contract adopted by the Ministry of Labor on September 8, 2020, included new protection measures for migrant domestic workers, including very important guarantees against forced labor, and could have been an important first step in abolishing the abusive sponsorship system. “.
They stated that “On September 21, the owners of the Recruitment Office of the Domestic Workers Union presented a complaint to the Shura Council, asking the Council to stop implementing two decisions issued by the Minister of Labor to approve the new unified contract for migrant domestic workers and limit the percentage of allowable deductions that the employer can deduct from wages. A domestic worker, which equals the national minimum wage, does not exceed 30 percent. They clarified in the report that “On October 14, the Shura Council ruled in favor of the recruitment agencies on the grounds that the two decisions involved“ serious harm ”to the interests of these offices, and the Council did not He referred to the rights of migrant domestic workers, which Lebanon is obligated to protect under international law.
For her part, Amnesty International’s campaign manager in Lebanon, Diala Haidar, said: “The regrettable pattern of violations against migrant domestic workers under the sponsorship system must end and the Lebanese authorities, including the judiciary, have the obligation to protect the rights of these workers instead of protecting a system that facilitates exploitation and work. Forced human trafficking “.
According to the statement issued by the two organizations, “There are an estimated 250,000 migrant domestic workers working in Lebanon. The vast majority of women come from countries in Africa, South, and Southeast Asia, including Ethiopia, the Philippines, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. They are excluded from the protection of Lebanese labor law and their situation in the country is regulated through the kafala system, a restrictive immigration system, which consists of laws, regulations and customary practices that link the legal residence of migrant workers with the employer.
The report stated that “Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, and many other organizations, have documented over the years how the sponsorship system gives employers great control over the lives of workers. This resulted in a plethora of violations, including non-payment of wages, forced detention, excessive working hours without days off or breaks, and verbal, physical and sexual abuse. Those who left their employers without permission run the risk of losing their legal residence in the country and facing detention and deportation. The previous contract provides an exception for domestic workers in extreme cases of mistreatment, in which the burden of proof falls on them, leaving the workers in a relationship, even in cases of forced labor.
The statement read: “According to the International Labor Organization, almost 90 percent of migrant domestic workers working in Lebanon are employed through an agency. Recruitment agencies in Lebanon hire female workers through partner offices in the countries of origin or through their representatives abroad. Its business model is based on charging employers high hiring fees, ranging from $ 1,000 to $ 3,000. The International Labor Organization has found that employers are often unsure what fees cover. It also found that there is wide variation in hiring fees, depending on the employer’s income and the worker’s nationality.
The report emphasized that “both Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch” documented the violations committed by the recruitment agencies. Some offices demanded that employers pay them the salary for the first months, instead of the worker, in violation of the worker’s rights. Some workers also reported that they were subjected to physical and verbal abuse, forced labor and human trafficking at the hands of recruitment agencies.
The statement addressed the position of the Union of Owners of Labor Recruitment Agencies, which considered that “migrant domestic workers are specifically excluded from the labor legislation, so their relationship with the employer is only governed by the law of obligations and contracts always that does not conflict with “public order, public morals and general provisions.” . He also considered that the standard contract violates the principle of freedom of contract, since both parties must have the ability to decide on the terms of the contract, even if they must be linked by a minimum wage. The ruling of the Council of State did not take into account the rights of women workers and the imbalance of power between the two parties.
The statement noted that “Lebanon is one of only two countries in the Middle East that is home to large numbers of migrant domestic workers, but does not have any laws that regulate their relationship with the employer and provide them with adequate protection and rights. Lebanon is obliged under international human rights law to ensure that migrant domestic workers and migrant workers receive protections equivalent to those enjoyed by other workers under the law. The contract is the only legal document that migrant domestic workers possess in Lebanon. Lebanon has had a unified contract for migrant domestic workers since 2009, but the 2009 version lacks significant safeguards against forced labor, does not comply with international human and labor rights standards, and was adopted before the Convention on Domestic Workers. 2011 Home of the International Labor Organization.
The statement issued by the two organizations stated that “the new unified contract aims to correct the imbalance of power and grant the workers the basic labor guarantees originally granted to the rest of the workers, such as the 48-hour work week, the weekly rest, payment of overtime, payment of sick leave and annual leave. And the adoption of a national minimum wage, with some allowable deductions for housing and food. More importantly, the new contract would have allowed workers to terminate their contract without the consent of the employer, thus dismantling a significant abusive aspect of the sponsorship system.
Aya Majzoub, a Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch, noted that “migrant domestic workers are among the most marginalized groups in Lebanon.” With the economic collapse of the country, exacerbated by the consequences of the Covid-19 virus, its already precarious situation changed from bad to worse. But instead of providing more protection and dismantling the system that allows the exploitation of these workers, the State Council seemed to give priority to the narrow commercial interests of the recruitment agencies.
The statement said: “It is not clear what defense means the Labor Ministry has provided, or if it plans to appeal. A Labor Ministry official declined to comment on this matter.” Human Rights Watch found that the Lebanese judiciary does not protect domestic workers or hold employers accountable when they violate basic workers’ rights.
The report emphasized that “the Lebanese parliament should urgently amend the labor law to include migrant domestic workers,” and emphasized that “the Lebanese authorities should urgently take other measures to dismantle the sponsorship system, including ensuring that migrant workers do not depend on their employers. Due to its legal situation in the country.
Haidar said that “migrant domestic workers have long suffered under the abusive sponsorship system in Lebanon, and Lebanon must comply with its international obligations, include migrant domestic workers in labor law and end the sponsorship system. “.
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