According to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), the deployment of household service workers (HSW) to Saudi Arabia is still not allowed. Employers in Saudi Arabia are demanding to decrease the salary of Filipino household workers by nearly 50%. The Philippine government refused to grant this request; thus resulting to deployment suspension. Another reason for the suspension is the numerous requirements that are imposed on Saudi employers by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). The deployment ban of HSWs to Saudi Arabia started last March.

The POEA Chief, Carlos Cao Jr., said that the deployment suspension remains because the two countries have not come up with an agreement that is acceptable to both.

Cao said, “The suspension stays because they wanted the $400 salary requirement that we set [to be] reduced to $210. Of course, we did not find that acceptable. We will not agree to anything lower than $400."

The POEA chief added that the secretary of Labor, Rosalinda Baldoz will meet with the Labor Minister of Saudi Arabia during the upcoming International Labor Organization meeting in June, to discuss the possible lifting of the deployment suspension.