Some relief for the housemaids

Two initiatives by Ministry of Interior protect their rights

Housemaids who have no dispute with their sponsors will no longer get a one-year ban stamped on their passports when cancelling their visas.

This move by the Ministry of Interior will come as a big relief for the maids, who can now change sponsors without leaving the country to serve out a ban.

Earlier, the prospect of being jobless for a year and the apprehension about finding a new job afterwards had prevented many maids, even the unhappy and disgruntled ones, from leaving their current jobs.

This initiative, which significantly supports a maid's freedom to choose and change employment, will also streamline the proceedings in the maids' job market, which sometimes sees the exploitation of "banned" maids by illegal "agents" promising work visas for a price.

It's good that even maids who have had disputes with their sponsors and have no one to support them also have something to look forward to.

A government shelter in Dubai will soon give them the much-needed respite from exploitative and abusive employers.