UAE to open new centres to offer hiring services for domestic workers

The UAE is set to open several new Tadbeer service centres in the country that will offer hiring services for domestic workers in the country.

The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation has said the centres will offer a “variety of packages” for employing various types of domestic workers, official news agency WAM reported.

Saqr Ghobash, minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation, said: “Customers select preferred domestic workers from a list of 19 different categories. Tadbeer centres shall act as a mediator and offer the highest level of contracting transparency.”

The Tadbeer centres will operate under a public-private partnership and investors have received initial approval to operate 40 centres across the country.

The centres are expected to start services in the fourth quarter of this year.

Ghobash said the ministry is currently working with its overseas counterparts to reach agreements concerning recruitment processes.

The centres will help “guarantee the provision of the visa, conduct pre-arrival interviews with domestic workers to ensure they understand their contractual rights, provide training and education to new workers, resolve disputes between workers and employees, and check on worker housing and accommodation”.

“The ministry has gone a long way in developing initiatives and policies that will have a positive impact,” WAM quoted him as saying.

Last month, the UAE’s Federal National Council (FNC) passed a draft law to protect the rights of domestic workers in the country.

It calls for better working conditions for domestic workers including giving them a weekly day off – when they should be allowed to leave the house, granting them paid leave for 30 days, and providing them at least 12 hours off duty a day, including eight consecutive hours.

Domestic workers will also have the right to keep their personal documents including passport, ID card and work permit.

According to reports, the law also aims to shield them from physical and verbal abuse and human trafficking.

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