Saudi Gazette report

JEDDAH — The Ministry of Labor and Social Development has agreed with its Ethiopian counterpart on a unified contract for domestic workers, Al-Madina Arabic daily reported on Saturday.

The unified contract stipulates compulsory training and orientation course for workers before arrival.

As per the contract, domestic workers must have a bank account for depositing their monthly salaries and must be committed to abide by the Kingdom’s laws and regulations.

No amount, including recruitment or employment cost, will be deducted from a domestic worker’s salary.

Other conditions of the unified contract include the establishment of a mechanism for providing help to the worker around the clock and to facilitate the settlement of contractual disputes.

A domestic worker should arrive in the Kingdom within two months from the approval of the work contract.

Minister of Labor and Social Development Ali Al-Ghafees and his Ethiopian counterpart Abdul Fattah Abdullah recently signed an agreement to enhance cooperation for the recruitment of domestic workers and organize the contractual relations between parties.

The agreement mentions the Kingdom’s commitment to ensure the protection of the rights of employers and domestic workers and make sure that the terms of the work contract are implemented.

According to the agreement, the Ethiopian side is committed to taking all the necessary measures to ensure that the workers are eligible, are physically fit and pass the criteria for working in the Kingdom.

The male or female workers should not have been convicted earlier for any crime.

Last May, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Labor and Social Development signed a bilateral agreement with Ethiopia’s Minister of Labor and Social Affairs to recruit Ethiopian domestic workers.

The MLSD said the signing of agreement offers a legal framework that enhances cooperation and protects the rights of employers and domestic workers as well as governs the contractual relationship between them.

The recruitment of Ethiopian workers should be done only through licensed recruitment offices, companies, manpower agencies or job placement centers.

The parties should stick to unified work contracts as both countries seek to control recruitment expenses.

Documents on Ethiopian workers submitted by local manpower agencies will be properly verified.