By Mohammed Abdullah

Okaz/Saudi Gazette

DAMMAM — Indonesian ambassador to the Kingdom has said labor ministries in the two countries are currently negotiating the return of Indonesian housemaids to the Kingdom.

Ambassador Agus Maftuh Abegebriel, however, explained that there were certain conditions for the return of the maids including their protection from Saudi sponsors, paying them salaries on time and giving them monthly salaries of SR2,000.

"The embassy is currently considering more than 200 complaints from housemaids concerning violence against them and delayed payment of their monthly salaries," he said.

The ambassador said negotiations were being held to solve this problem to pave the way for the return of the housemaids.

He avoided a question about the exact date of the return of the Indonesian housemaids but said it might be very soon.

The ambassador was confident that Indonesia was able to satisfy the Kingdom's needs for housemaids once some unresolved issues are dealt with properly.

Meanwhile, a number of recruitment offices were surprised by the talk about the possible return of Indonesian housemaids to the Kingdom and said what has been circulated on social media about the issue was not accurate.

They said their counterpart offices in Jakarta have denied the return of the housemaids to the Kingdom.

The Indonesian recruitment offices said negotiations between the two ministries to lift the ban on the import of Indonesian housemaids did not bring any results. Thus the talk about their imminent return is not correct at all.