Business & Money | Saturday 16 May, 2015 2:20 am |

The Ministry of Labor and the Council of Saudi Chambers (CSC) have begun consultations to form a committee to resolve the issue of the high costs of recruiting domestic workers.

Abdul Hadi Bayomi, an investor in the recruitment sector, said: “The plethora of different recruitment regulations is one the prime reasons behind the high cost of recruiting domestic workers in the Kingdom in comparison with the Gulf Cooperation Council. Our differences in labor regulations are reflected in the complex negotiations required with countries simply to import workers.”

He continued: “Moreover, there are some countries that have similarly created tough requirements for the Saudi negotiators to meet. All of these reasons have caused recruitment costs to rise.”
Bayomi went on to explain some of these differences, saying that “labor regulations in some Gulf countries allow domestic workers to work elsewhere after ending their work period with their sponsoring employer. There are other Gulf regulations which grant a domestic worker a day off per week to be spent outside the home, while these advantages are unavailable in Saudi Arabia.”

Despite these difficulties, demand for domestic workers continues to grow, while recruitment agencies in the Kingdom face a major shortage in the number of maids available for employment. Formerly, employers paid SR1,260 per month for maid services, but this has now risen to SR1,580 as of 2014. Some agencies insist that employers pay SR46,000 in salaries and administration costs in advance when signing a two-year contract, according a media report.
Meanwhile, a number of experts have called for the abolition of the National Committee of Recruitment, and have instead suggested that its functions be given to the Ministry of Labor.