Lebanon's Labor Ministry Tuesday cancelled the licenses of 171 domestic worker recruitment agencies and suspended 23 more as authorities investigated their labor practices.
Lebanon has more than 700 domestic worker recruitment agencies, but just 441 meet legal standards, according to a Labor Ministry statement issued Tuesday.
"The problems are mainly with illegal agencies that don't belong to the syndicate," the statement said.
The move comes amid a campaign by caretaker Labor Minister Sejaan Azzi to raise the quality of Lebanon’s agencies to meet international standards.
"This profession deals with humans and not things," the statement quoted Azzi as saying.
The ministry has received many complaints from domestic workers about how they are treated by their employers, as well as from households employing domestic workers.
Dozens of domestic worker suicides are reported in Lebanon every year, and some countries have forbidden their citizens from working in Lebanon.
Agencies in violation of the law have been given three months to meet the legal requirements.
The ministry called on the Union of Domestic Worker Recruitment Agencies to follow the law and deal with domestic workers in a humanitarian manner and within the boundaries of the law, holding it responsible for any violations.
It also called on employers to treat domestic workers in a respectful manner, and to safeguard their rights.
Recruitment offices have come under increased scrutiny in recent years for violating labor laws and exploiting the kafala system, which governs the status of foreign domestic workers who are brought into the country under the sponsorship of a Lebanese employer.
