Gulf agrees new contract for domestic workers

Gulf labour ministers Tuesday agreed on minimum terms in the contracts of domestic staff to improve the widely criticised working conditions of over 2.4 million foreign maids, an official said. The move comes as labour ministers of the six-nation Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC), home to 23 million foreigners, mostly unskilled workers, are to meet with their Asian counterparts in Kuwait City this week to discuss the conditions of foreign labour in the oil-rich region.
The new contract entitles domestic workers to a weekly day off, annual leave and the right to live outside their employer's house, the director general of Kuwait's Public Manpower Authority, Jamal al-Dossari, told AFP. It also limits the working day to eight hours. The GCC, comprising Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates, has repeatedly come under strong criticism by international rights groups for alleged maltreatment of foreign workers, particularly domestic helpers.