Faris Al-Qahtani
RIYADH — The Ministry of Labor held a second meeting on Tuesday to discuss problems and challenges in the recruitment of domestic workers.
Deputy Minister of Labor Ahmad Al-Humaidan said the changes the recruitment market has gone through over past the few years has caused an imbalance in the supply and demand.
“The recruitment of domestic workers has faced many challenges and changes the past few years. The nature of the work of housemaids and drivers has changed throughout the years. Housemaids used to live with the family and be at its service round the clock. Nowadays, working mothers only want part-time maids because they are not in the house most of the day,” said Al-Humaidan.
He said some countries have stopped sending housemaids to Saudi Arabia after a global discussion on the rights of expatriates.
“All of these challenges has caused a shortage in supply of domestic workers in the Kingdom despite the rising demand. The meeting also had a number of recruitment office owners presenting their concerns and suggestions,” said Al-Humaidan.
One recruitment office owner said a system is needed enabling recruitment companies to report problems and lodge complaints.
“We often have urgent problems that need immediate solutions. It takes a long time to receive a reply from the ministry with regard to issues related to procedure and rights of expatriate workers. We also faced problems with payroll from the ministry. Sometimes the payroll is delayed due to technical errors and the offices and companies are dependent on the ministry’s system,” said the owner.
He said the recruitment offices also need a way to contact the expatriates before they are sent to them. “We need to ensure that the expatriates sent to us by the recruitment offices of the target country have gone through adequate training for the position they will occupy,” he said.
