Cambodia has since Saturday repatriated seven more nationals who were working in Malaysia illegally, according to a statement released by the Foreign Affairs Ministry on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Hun Sen banned Cambodians from working in Malaysia as maids in 2011 amid mounting reports that they were being abused by the local recruitment agencies sending them abroad as well as by their Malaysian employers.
In its statement, the ministry said five of the repatriated nationals went to work as maids last year, but had asked the Cambodian Embassy in Malaysia for help returning home because of the “difficult” working conditions.
They were due to arrive on Tuesday afternoon.
It said a couple that had been working illegally on a Malaysian rubber plantation since 2012 were also repatriated on Saturday along with their 2-year-old daughter.
Cambodia and Malaysia agreed in principle to lift the ban on maids in December 2015, but have yet to finalize the details of a new arrangement.
Last week, the Labor Ministry said it hoped to have the details worked out by the end of the month.
