UAE to shut all private maid-hiring agencies by March 2021

All private maid-hiring agencies in the United Arab Emirates will be shut down by March 2021, The National reported.

250 private recruitment agencies, many of which brought foreign workers illegally on tourist visas, have already been shut down across the country in a bid to better protect the rights of domestic workers and their employers, with only ten agencies remaining.

From March 2021, domestic workers will have to be employed through one of 54 government-run Tadbeer centres which were set up in 2018.

“We will start a new page based on regulations and standards that respect human rights,” minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation Nasser Al Hamli said.

According to 2011 government statistics, foreign nationals account for more than 88.5 per cent of the UAE’s population. Human Rights Watch found that many low-paid migrant workers continued to face forced labour among other abuses in 2018, despite reforms.

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