Ethiopia has officially begun to deploy domestic workers to United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The employment in the UAE was officially launched on Thursday as per the bilateral agreement signed between the governments of Ethiopia and UAE last February.
Labor and Social Affairs Minister, Dr Ergoge Tesfaye said the agreement would enable the workers to serve in safe environment where their rights and benefits will be realized.
Ethiopia banned its citizens from traveling to Middle East to look for work in 2013.
Close to 500 workers have already got approval certificates to go and work in UAE, according to ENA.
The Ethiopian government had stopped sending women for employment as domestic workers in Gulf Cooperation council countries, including the UAE.
The Ethiopian and the UAE governments have been negotiating a memorandum of understanding (MoU), to safeguard the rights of Ethiopian domestic workers in the UAE.
The negotiation came after Ethiopian domestic workers faced problems of non-payment of wages and being denied health insurance..
Reports indicate that there is a significant Ethiopian population in the UAE — close to 100,000, a large number of which are domestic workers.
MG/abj/APA