Doha: Few residents who sponsor household workers and recruitment agencies, who recruit house maids, have voiced concern over the new draft law for household workers, which call for a weekly holiday for all house workers.
The proposed law is expected to specify the duty hours of domestic helps, weekly off and annual vacations.
In comments published by the Al Sharq newspaper on their website some people said allowing maids to go out of the house on off day will create problems and it is not in line with the national traditions and social mores. They also asked that if something happens to the workers when they are out of the house, who will be held responsible.
The objection was mainly towards allowing the housemaids on their sponsorship to go out of the house themselves on their off day.
Some of the people were okay with the idea of giving them an off day and allow them to spend the same inside the house itself. But critics point out that this will not amount to an off day as you are still in the work environment itself.
Recently the State Cabinet approved a draft law on domestic helps, which specifies the rights and duties of domestic workers as well as their sponsors.
The draft law defines household works as services a domestic helper does for the sponsor or those living with the sponsor at family houses, in line with the contract and established norms.
The draft law defines the sponsor as a natural person for whom a domestic helper works and the domestic helper as a natural person who carries out household works under the management and supervision of the
sponsor in return for a wage in line with the contract and established norm. Domestic helpers include drivers, nannies, cooks, gardeners and their equivalents.
It is also expected to specify the duty hours of domestic helps, weekly off and annual vacations. It would also regulate hiring of housemaids and other domestic helps through manpower agencies operating in the country.
The proposed law would make a mechanism of work relation between domestic helps and their employers to safeguard the rights of both parties in case of any dispute.
