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Ethiopians banned from overseas jobs

The Ethiopian government has banned its citizens from travelling overseas for employment, after a prolonged ban on its domestic workers entering some Middle Eastern countries.

However, a placement agency said the ban will not impact the domestic worker market in Dubai.

The order took effect on Thursday and the government is also clamping down on foreign employment agencies, according to the Ethiopian Radio and Television Agency.

The universal ban has been implemented to stop the “exodus” of workers leaving the country through illegal placement agencies, Ethiopian Foreign Affairs spokesman Dina Mufti told AFP.

“This exodus, being pushed by illegal human traffickers, has created immense problems for the people of the nation, for the image of the country,” Dina said.

The numerous agencies in the country lured Ethiopians into working abroad illegally, in appalling conditions, he said.

“It’s affecting a lot of youngsters who are pushed out, deceived by the human traffickers, that has created an immense socio-economic problem for the country,” he said.

Ethiopia’s Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs said 200,000 women left the country in 2012 seeking work, mainly in the Middle East. According to the Association of Ethiopian Overseas Recruitment Agencies, more than half-a-million Ethiopians have flown out of the country illegally the last five years.

Khaleej Times could not reach the Ethiopian consulate or embassy for comment or a clarification of what this new edict meant for the UAE before the paper went to print.

However, Easy Daily Maid Cleaning Service administration manager Nevlin Crasto said of the thousands of maids in Dubai alone, a minute number were Ethiopian.

“Only one or two per cent are required in Dubai...basically we more require Filipinos, Sri Lankans, Indians and Indonesians. The highest per cent actually would be Filipinos, they are the most wanted in Dubai.”

Crasto said there was no “particular reason” people did not seem to want Ethiopians, though Filipinos and Indians were thought of highly sought after. “It’s the people’s concept...


Filipinos are very hard-working, that’s the feedback we get. We have done the research (and that shows) new Dubai prefer Filipinos because of the speaking power, the cleanliness and the personality.”

There were about 600 cleaning companies working in Dubai, but only about 200 would even hire Ethiopians — and small numbers at that, he said.

His company had 14 maids, all of whom were Filipino, in a reflection of market research which showed three quarters of all people wanted Filipino maids, regardless of whether they were live-in or part-time, he said.

With a population of 91 million, Ethiopia is Africa’s second most populous country after Nigeria, but also one of the continent’s poorest, with the majority of people earning less than two dollars per day.

Last July, the Ethiopian government placed a moratorium on Ethiopian maids working in the UAE after a series of complaints of abuse.

However, earlier this year Ethiopian Consul-General Mesganu Arga Moach told Khaleej Times the ban would soon be lifted. He said the countries were close to arriving at an agreement to protect vulnerable workers, who were often exploited by rogue recruitment agents, human traffickers or sponsor families. It appears the ban remains in place.

amanda@khaleejtimes.com