Domestic workers in Gulf states face COVID-19 job losses & abuse from recruitment agencies
Summary
Date Reported: 7 Jul 2020
Location: Saudi Arabia
Companies
Almuhait Recruitment - RecruiterAffected
Total individuals affected: 9
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Kenya , Domestic worker agencies , Gender not reported ) , Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Uganda , Domestic worker agencies , Gender not reported )Issues
Violence , Right to Food , Precarious/Unsuitable Living Conditions , Restricted mobility , Withholding Passports , Personal Health , Freedom of MovementResponse
Response sought: Yes, by Journalist
Action taken: After the New York Times contacted Almuhait Recruitment about the women's situation, several of the women, including the pregnant woman, were taken to hospital for medical checkups and COVID-19 tests. The Kenyan ambassador to Saudi Arabia stated that it was the responsibility of Saudi Arabia to ensure the safety of migrant workers there. The NYT report states that it is the responsibility of the agency that recruited the Kenyan women in Kenya to help them home; the agency is no longer answering its phone or responding to messages.
Source type: News outlet
Summary
Date Reported: 7 Jul 2020
Location: Saudi Arabia
Other
Not Reported ( Domestic worker agencies ) - RecruiterAffected
Total individuals affected: 1
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( 1 - Philippines , Domestic worker agencies , Gender not reported )Issues
Restricted mobility , Right to Food , Precarious/Unsuitable Living Conditions , Personal Health , Freedom of MovementResponse
Response sought: No
Action taken: None reported.
Source type: News outlet
"In Arab States, coronavirus pandemic traps African domestic workers who fin themselves unemployed, abused," 7 Jul 2020
Nine African women lost their jobs as domestic workers in Saudi Arabia because of the coronavirus lockdown, the agency that had recruited them [imprisoned them]...
since March. One is now six months pregnant but receiving no maternity care. Another tore her clothes off in a fit of distress, so the agency chained her to a wall.
The women receive food once a day... but don’t know when they [can] return to their countries...
For the Kenyan women, the agency that recruited them in Kenya is responsible for helping them return home... [it] is no longer answering its phone or responding to messages...
The women said they had been locked up by their Saudi agency, Almuhait Recruitment. It did not respond to requests for comment...
After The New York Times contacted Almuhait Recruitment about the women’s situation on Sunday... several of the women, including the pregnant woman, had been taken to a hospital for medical checkups and COVID-19 tests.