Give housemaids 9 hours break every day, sponsors told

Families employing housemaids in Saudi Arabia must not cut their wages except under a court order and two other cases, according to the Saudi ministry of Labour.

Employers can also chop off maids’ salaries in case they give them a loan or for loss caused by the damage of a house item by the maid, it said in a study.

“If the employing family deducts from the maid’s salary in any of those cases, the deduction must not exceed 50 per cent of the worker’s monthly wage,” it said.

The study, published by the Arabic language daily Okaz, said domestic workers have the right to get a daily break of at least nine hours.

It also stressed that families hiring a new housemaid can put her under a probation period of not more than three months. In case the employers decide against hiring the maid, they must send her back home and pay air ticket for her.

More than two million housemaids from Asia and Africa work in Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter with a population of around 30 million, including nearly 10 million expatriates.

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