One-stop centre to hire domestic help coming to UAE

Dubai - The centres are expected to set a new standard for the provision of services to domestic workers, protect their rights, and more

Named Tadbeer, a one-stop centre, will soon streamline services related to domestic workers and help keep a database of their information in the country.
Operating under the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE), the first set of Tadbeer centres owned by Emiratis will be opened in the fourth quarter of the year.
Announcing the plans, Saqr Ghobash, Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation, said the centre aims to offer all services required to employers interested in hiring domestic helpers.
"[The ministry] will grant licence to operators according to their capacity to meet high standards and ensure their customers' ongoing happiness, matching the UAE's outstanding government service programme," Ghobash said.
He noted that the centres are expected to set a new standard for the provision of services to domestic workers, protect their rights, enable access to better information and training, and ensure that working conditions and accommodation are appropriate.
Ghobash added that the new centres are also expected to provide better quality services to promote competition among recruitment offices.
According to official statistics, there are around 750,000 domestic workers in the UAE, making up nearly 20 per cent of the expatriate workforce. As many as 65 per cent of them are based in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah.
Criteria to open a centre
The centres must be owned by Emiratis and must follow certain criteria.
Speaking at the launch, Aisha Belharfia, assistant undersecretary for domestic worker affairs, outlined some of the criteria that the ministry will be setting for businesses applying to operate Tadbeer centres.
"Our aim is to ensure that the centres are inviting, spacious and accessible. Proposed locations for centres must be on the ground floor, fitted out according to a design set by the ministry, and be a minimum of 4,000 square feet."
She added: "Applications coming from the ministry's staff or relatives (of the first degree) to open and operate a centre will be disqualified. Applicants must provide the ministry with a bank guarantee of not less than Dh500,000."
Operating under a public-private partnership plan, these centres will help guarantee the provision of high quality visa, orientation and training services. Under current plans, private companies are being invited to tender for the right to operate the centres. Services provided by Tadbeer centres will include conducting pre-arrival interviews with domestic workers, resolving disputes and checking on worker housing and accommodation.
The centre will also provide relevant help depending on the requirements of the employer in addition to services such as visa issuance, Emirates ID, medical documents and dropping the domestic helper to the customer.
The announcement follows the UAE Cabinet's recent transfer of responsibility for domestic workers to MoHRE. The ministry is receiving and processing applications for the recruitment and employment of domestic workers in Dubai, before being rolled out in the rest of the UAE later this year.
Meanwhile, the UAE is currently looking at a draft law to boost the rights of domestic workers. The rules protect domestic workers from discrimination and ensure they take a weekly day off, 30 days of annual paid leave and retain their personal documents.
sherouk@khaleejtimes.com
Talks to lift ban progressing
The cost of hiring a domestic helper has witnessed a hike since some Asian countries imposed a ban on deploying domestic workers. Philippines banned its hiring and asked for a minimum wage of $400 (Dh1,468) while Indonesia imposed a ban last year on the deployment of maids to the Middle East, including the UAE.
The average cost of hiring a maid now is Dh20,000 as compared to Dh10,000 a few years ago.
 Saqr Ghobash, Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation, said that talks are progressing with the Philippine government to review their decision. In 2014, the hiring of Filipino domestic helpers by individual employers was halted after the Ministry of Interior introduced a unified contract for domestic workers that led to the suspension of Philippine consular role in verifying and attesting employment contracts.
Ghobash said: "We made sure to reopen the dialogue with them to reach a decision that would satisfy both parties." He added that a decision is expected to be settled over the coming weeks.

• UAE