Embassy
of Jordan - Washington, DC
Information Bureau
Contact 202-265-1606
www.jordanembassyus.org
March 5, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jordan and the Philippines Working to Lift the
Temporary Suspension Order to Deploy Filipino
Domestic Workers
The Governments of Jordan and the Philippines set up
a Joint Committee last December 2007 to improve
overall procedures concerning the deployment of
Filipino domestic workers and resolve a number of
individual cases of domestic workers.
The Committee identified a number of procedural and
practical obstacles in the relevant recruitment
processes in the Philippines and Jordan. The members
of the Committee agreed to change certain procedures
and to up-date the 1988 bilateral Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) concerning the employment of
Filipino guest workers in Jordan.
The Committee, comprised of representatives from the
Ministry of Labour of Jordan, the Embassy of the
Philippines in Amman and Jordanian recruitment
agencies, was invited by the Philippine Government
to visit Manila to study the deployment process in
the Philippines in preparation for the signing of a
new bilateral MoU. Dates for the visit will soon be
agreed upon.
Within the framework of the work of the Joint
Committee, the Government of the Philippines also
requested the Government of Jordan to facilitate the
repatriation of 140 domestic workers who had lost
the legal right to stay in Jordan through their own
actions.
The Philippine Ambassador to Jordan, Julius Torres,
conveyed his sincere gratitude to the Government of
Jordan for facilitating the return of these domestic
workers by waiving the fines for overstaying
relevant permits. Ambassador Torres also commended
the liberal and progressive labour policies of
Jordan. The Government of the Philippines will
provide these workers with an air ticket.
To facilitate the work of the Joint Committee, both
governments agreed in January to temporarily suspend
the deployment of Filipino domestic workers to
Jordan. Given overall progress made by the Joint
Committee, the Government of Jordan and the
Government of the Philippines are currently
resolving final obstacles before lifting the
temporary suspension of deployment of Filipino guest
workers to Jordan.
The Minister of Labour of Jordan, His Excellency,
Bassem Khalil Al-Salem, praised the work of the
Committee and welcomed the invitation of the
Government of the Philippines to visit Manila.
Jordan Information Bureau
202-265-1606
jordaninfo1@aol.com
