Saudi Gazette report

JEDDAH — The Musaned website accounted for 90.4 percent of the total number of applications for visas issued domestic workers by the Ministry of Labor and Social Development in 2016.

According to a statistical report, the number of visas issued through Musaned stood at 1,123,838. This is 90.4 percent of the total number of visas issued by the ministry, Al-Eqtisadiah newspaper reported.

The report indicated that the average response to applications for issuing electronic visas during the year was about 5 hours, while the number of visits to the website for information was about 14 million. The report pointed to the registration of 637 offices and Saudi recruitment companies in Musaned and the registration and linking of 720 foreign employment offices with Saudi offices, and the launch of the electronic documentation system in seven countries not mentioned in the report.

Musaned aims at providing the best possible means to improve the recruitment of domestic workers by accelerating the procedures and mechanisms in addition to enhancing the electronic infrastructure for services provided by the Ministry of Labor and Social Development.

The number of domestic workers working in Saudi Arabia as of 2015 reached 1,935,204, about 62.4 percent of them females. The number of female workers was put at 1,208,973 while the male domestic workers numbered 7,26,231.

The report pointed out that the recruitment of domestic workers was influenced by multiple external factors. The Ministry of Labor has been working with a number of government agencies to solve the recruitment crisis.

The report pointed to the cessation of recruitment activity by nine offices, in addition to the suspension of all services provided to the by the ministry and the relevant authorities, as a result of the violation of Article 48 of the recruitment bylaw.