New contract for domestic workers in Gulf

Apropos 'Gulf agrees new contract for domestic workers' carried by Business Recorder on November 26, it is indeed a matter of great relief for the Asian labour community in particular that Gulf labour ministers have agreed on minimum terms in the contracts of domestic staff to improve the widely criticised working conditions of over 2.4 million foreign maids.
It has been learnt that new contract entitles domestic workers to a weekly day off, annual leave and the right to live outside their employer's house. It also limits the working day to eight hours. The step taken by the Arab sheikhdoms highlights the effectiveness of voices that various human rights groups have been raising for the past many decades. That the migrant workers, particularly maids, always deserved better treatment is a fact that has manifested itself in a slew of reported and unreported anti-labour practices and incidents in oil-rich countries. These countries, nevertheless, deserve commendations for taking such a noble step.