Saudi may ban maids from Philippines, Indonesia
Saudi Arabia is considering halting the recruitment of housemaids from the Philippines and Indonesia after the two countries introduced tough terms for their employment in the Gulf Kingdom, the online Arabic language daily Alikhbariya reported on Monday.
Employment offices in the Kingdom are already negotiating with other countries to supply maids and offset a shortage resulting from the boycott of Philippine and Indonesian domestic workers, it said.
“The National Recruitment Committee in the Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry is considering stopping the hiring of housemaids from the Philippines and Indonesia following their decision to introduce impossible conditions,” the paper said, quoting the Committee’s chairman, Saad Al Baddah.
“There is a possibly now to hire maids from Ethiopia, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Eritrea despite the delay in procedures in these countries….we could also allow maids from Cambodia and Mali after the signing of an agreement with them in this respect.”
More than one million housemaids from Indonesia and other Asian and African nations work in Saudi Arabia, the largest Arab economy and the world’s dominant oil power.
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