Domestic workers in the Gulf states will receive a better deal from their employers under a new plan that the labour ministers of the countries have agreed.

Gulf labour ministers agreed on some minimum terms in the contracts of domestic staff to improve their working conditions, an AFP report said quoting an official.

Labour ministers of the GCC states will meet with their Asian counterparts in Kuwait  this week to discuss the conditions of foreign labour in the region.

India, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, which are the main sources of workers in the Gulf, are among the countries taking part.

Gulf is home to 23 million foreigners, mostly unskilled workers. Out of this over 2.4 million are housemaids.

The new contract entitles domestic workers to a weekly day off, annual leave and the right to live outside their employer's house, the director general of Kuwait's Public Manpower Authority, Jamal Al-Dossari, was quoted as saying by AFP.

It also limits the working day to eight hours.

"The contract has been approved by the ministers, though some countries said they have laws that are better for workers. The ministers agreed that the contract should be the minimum granted to workers," Dossari said.

Under the new contract, domestic helpers are also entitled to end of service indemnity and overtime pay for extra work for a maximum of two hours daily, in addition to banning employers from confiscating the workers' passports.