The Ministry of Labour has urged Jordanian citizens to stay informed on the laws and regulations that must be followed when hiring migrant domestic workers.

Hayel al-Zaben, Director of the Domestic Workers Directorate, said in a statement that the Ministry continually updates information on its website that is related to domestic worker recruitment in the Kingdom, including listing the full details of the domestic worker recruitment agencies.

Zaben noted that three recruitment offices were shut down, 17 offices were stopped from working, and 24 offices had their licences seized.

Meanwhile, 140 offices remain active.

Zaben urged potential employers to check out the Ministry’s website before visiting a recruitment agency, in order to guarantee its authenticity and not fall victim to some of the recruiters’ fake ads.

Citizens looking to hire a housemaid have also been advised to read the rights they’re entitled to and the rights their employee is entitled to before starting the hiring process.

The full cost of bringing in a domestic worker from abroad, including payments for their work permit, insurance, medical examination, airport fees and residency, is:

Ethiopia: JD 2,000
Philippines: JD 2,900
Ghana: JD 1,800
Uganda: JD 1,900
Nepal: JD 2,500
Bangladesh: JD 2,050

Any recruitment offices charging above the aforementioned fees must be reported to the Domestic Workers Directorate.

While the recruitment agencies make thousands bringing in all those migrant workers, housemaids are often paid a mere $200 to $500 a month, and are often expected to work more than 12 hours a day.

To make matters worse, their chores are not limited to cleaning the household, but extend to cooking, babysitting, gardening and other responsibilities, while many have their passports and phones confiscated and are prevented from leaving the house without their employer in tow.

More than 50,000 migrant domestic workers are currently working in Jordan, and another estimated 20,000 are operating without proper documentation, CNN reported, citing official government figures.