Indonesia’s Ban on Maids Threatens 2,000 Saudi Jobs
Some 600 recruitment offices are being threatened with bankruptcy as approximately 2,000 Saudi employees working in their offices are expected to lose their jobs due to a new Indonesian ban on maids working abroad, local media quoted office owners as saying.
The Indonesian Manpower Services Association (APJATI) has reportedly agreed to send its house maids to some companies as “janitors” with an agreed salary, Al-Riyadh daily said. This situation will deprive citizens and recruitment offices their rights to recruit manpower from Indonesia under the profession of “house maids,” the daily said quoting office owners.
Meanwhile, one of the companies said it is offering an Indonesian “janitor” for four days (on a five-hour basis) per month at a salary of SR750.
The owner of another recruitment office said that this attitude by such companies that agreed to hire manpower from Indonesia will lead recruitment offices to lay off more than 2,000 Saudi employees.
The representative urged the Ministry of Labor to intervene and ban the activities of companies working in this manner which deprives citizens of being able to recruit house workers under their names.
Another office owner, who requested anonymity, said that opening the door to the recruitment companies to practice this type of activity draws skepticism and is possibly meant to impede recruitment offices which have been working for tens of years.
Indonesian manpower exporting companies are set to stop sending house maids to the Kingdom. The recruitment offices are normally obliged to sign contracts with house workers and receive not less than 20 percent of the value of the contracts through applying in the names of citizens.