Indonesia Sends Home Maids Who Faced Problems With Jordanian Employers

By Ahmad Fuad Yahya JAKARTA, March 3 (Bernama) -- Thirty Indonesian domestic maids have been sent home from Jordan since Saturday, after they were issued exit permits in relation to problems with their employers. The Indonesian Embassy in Amman, Jordan arranged to send the maids via four flights on Saturday, Sunday, Monday and March 13. Currently, 332 Indonesian maids are being sheltered at the embassy. The main restraint faced by the embassy is the 'kafalah' system in Jordan. Under the system, the Jordanian immigration authorities would check with their employers before issuing an exit permit to the maids. The maids would be detained at the embassy if employers did not give permission due to various reasons. "Many employers had the maids detained on the excuse their contracts had not expired, or over allegations of theft," said the Indonesian Foreign Ministry in a statement Saturday. Indonesia has repeatedly met the Jordanian authorities to solve problems related to the high number of maids at the shelter, and the time-consuming process of settling the cases. Last year, the embassy had sheltered, sent home and solved 599 cases of maids who faced numerous problems, including unpaid salaries, allegations of torture, sexual harassment, working hours not in accordance with contracts, exceeding stay due to non-renewal of permits by employers and ill-health. Of the 332 maids who sought shelter at the embassy, 200 had gone to Jordan after Indonesia implemented the moratorium on sending maids to Jordan on July 29, 2010. -- BERNAMA