[PHNOM PENH POST]
The government has approved Qatar as a destination for the growing number of Cambodian labourers seeking employment overseas.
Workers
will not be recruited for housekeeping services, however, private
sector officials said. The abuse of maids in Malaysia – many of whom
were reportedly under-aged – has brought much scrutiny to the recruiting
agencies that sent the women abroad.
Prime Minister Hun Sen on
Friday approved the agreement on domestic labour with Qatar that the two
governments originally endorsed in 2008.
A statement from the
Council of Ministers said the agreement would promote a higher level of
private-sector cooperation between Cambodia and the gulf state,
something in line with the Kingdom’s goals for globalisation. It would
also curb illegal migration and mitigate the risk of a domestic labour
shortage, the statement said.
Hong Chheoun, director of Cambodia’s National Employment Agency, was not immediately available for comment.
The
Qatari market needs thousands of labourers annually, a demand higher
than other labour-importing countries, An Bun Hak, chairman of the
Association of Cambodia Recruitment Agency, said.
“We’ve seen
that Qatar’s labour market conditions are much better compared to many
other countries in the Middle East,” An Bun Hak recently told the Post.
“The
[Cambodian] government is in part trying to reduce unemployment.
Domestic labour markets are also not sufficient in supporting young
labourers, so this is a temporary strategy for helping them find
employment.”
About 300,000 Cambodians enter the labour market
each year, according to a report from the United Nations Development
Programme. Securing employment for recent entrants would require
cooperation between the government and the private sector, the report
said.
Qatar will absorb up to 40,000 Cambodian workers a year
with fixed salaries of up to US$400 per month for unskilled workers, An
Bun Hak said.
Cambodians sent to Qatar would not work as maids or
housekeepers as they have in other countries, An Bun Hak claimed.
Sending workers to private households presents a risk for abuse, he
said.
“We won’t allow them to work in the housekeeping industry
because we have different cultures and daily living habits. We want to
avoid any abuse that could happen by chance so we decided not to send
them to work in housekeeping,” he said, adding that Cambodians would be
employed as construction workers and hotel staff.
Nine Cambodian
maids have died in Malaysia this year, the Post reported last month. The
Cambodian government temporarily prohibited recruitment companies from
sending young women to Malaysia last month after cases of rape, forced
detention, exploitation and death rocked both countries.
The
Philippines has considered banning labour recruiters from sending maids
to Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates because the countries
could not guarantee the protection of the workers, according to UAE
business publication Arabian Business. But Cambodian workers in Qatar
would be protected by the gulf state’s Ministry of Labour, An Bun Hak
claimed. Employers would also provide round-trip airfares once a year, a
unique offer from the country, he added.
Cambodia sends about
80,000 domestic workers to South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia and Japan
every year. While private companies manage business between the latter
three countries, the South Korean government manages incoming labour
from Cambodia.
Cambodia also signed a similar memorandum of
understanding with Kuwait in 2008, however, a formal agreement has yet
to materialise, An Bun Hak said, adding that he was unsure if complaints
of abuse in the country were at fault for the delay.
“We’re
waiting for an annoucnment from the government on [the Kuwaiti] market.
If it’s okay, we will contact [employers],” he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment