RIYADH, 14 April 2005 — A question mark hangs over 9,000 Indonesian housemaids and their Saudi employers after the Indonesian government has imposed tighter restrictions on the recruitment of housemaids.
According to Waleed Al-Swaidan, chief of the Saudi Arabian National Recruitment Committee, in some cases, the new rules contravene existing Saudi laws. He criticized the new recruitment rules, saying “The probation period for any worker according to Saudi law is 90 days and this cannot be changed for Indonesians. The new rules also make it mandatory for employers to grant a one-month paid annual vacation to maids. This is in contrast to Saudi law which stipulates a 15-day annual paid leave.”
