Shams Ahsan

Saudi Gazette

JEDDAH —  A senior Indian Embassy official has denied reports published in a section of the Arabic press that India has “reservations” on sending housemaids and nannies to the Kingdom.



“India may find it embarrassing to dispatch its women citizens to work as housemaids or nannies in the Kingdom,” Mohsen Al-Omairy, deputy chairman the Council of Saudi Chambers’ National Recruitment Committee (NRC), was quoted as saying by Makkah Arabic daily on Wednesday.



“Why should we be embarrassed?” responded Hemant Kotalwar, Minister and Deputy Chief of Mission at Indian Embassy in Riyadh. “We are not stopping anyone from coming to Saudi Arabia,” he told Saudi Gazette.



We only want that those who want to recruit from India should follow proper mechanism, which was put in place by an agreement signed last year between the two countries, said Kotalwar. 



Last year, Saudi Labor Minister Adel Fakeih and then Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi signed in New Delhi a new labor agreement for the recruitment of “domestic service workers.”



Fakeih said at that time that the signed agreement will only allow hiring of domestic helpers through licensed agencies which comply with Saudi regulations and of the country deploying the domestic workers. He also said the pact was for five years with the provision of automatic renewal after its expiry.



The agreement, which prohibits salary deductions from a domestic worker for any recruitment cost, offers a fool-proof protection mechanism, including insurance. It also prevents contract substitution.