Evacuation of migrant workers back to square one 

Following initial talks about a free of charge or low cost repatriation scheme for migrant domestic workers from Lebanon (https://bit.ly/3dFcHuA), the head of the Syndicate of Owners of Recruitment Offices, Ali Amin, disclosed yesterday that the issue is now back to square one. Speaking to Al Markaziya electronic portal, Amin explained that notwithstanding the declared approval by Ethiopian authorities to bear the cost of the compulsory quarantine, they now seem to be incapable of fulfilling this. According to Amin, Ethiopians repeatedly maintained that the places they booked are now full as thousands of cases enter the country by land every day and are forced to impose similar measures on them which is beyond current accommodation capacity. Meanwhile, the ministry of labor asked Lebanese employers to consider the quarantine period, be it at home or at hospital, as paid sick leave. As for those who wish to deport their workers, they are kindly requested to contact the concerned embassies or consulates to this effect, while assuring the payment of their full dues before departure.  (Al Diyar, An Nahar, June 3, 2020)