By Muhammad Al-Abdullah

Okaz/Saudi Gazette

DAMMAM — Saudi Arabia will start hiring domestic workers from Ethiopia this month, according to recruitment office sources.

There are over 800 Ethiopian contracting offices that will handle the process of sending domestic labor. The cost for each domestic worker is estimated at around SR7,500.

It is expected that there will be a huge demand for Ethiopian domestic workers because the recruitment cost is cheaper compared to hiring Filipino and Sri Lankan housemaids whose recruitment cost is SR18,000 and SR20,000 respectively.

Saudi national recruitment offices have already received several applications. Each office is allowed to process a maximum of 50 visa transactions. Hakeem Al-Khoneizi, a Saudi investor in the recruitment field, said contracting offices are charging $900 (SR3375) for the recruitment of a domestic help, and the total cost for Saudi sponsors for each domestic worker will be up to SR7,500.

The salary of a domestic help will be around SR1,000, he said.

The Ethiopian authorities have identified nine health centers to receive domestic workers as soon as they start receiving applications.