BURAIDAH, 10 September 2007 — A special committee has been formed in the Qassim Region to tackle the illegal practice of recruitment offices finding jobs for runaway maids, said Col. Fahd ibn Ali Al-Habdan, spokesman for Qassim Police.
“Recruitment offices, citizens and expatriates who recruit runaway maids will be severely punished,” Al-Habdan said.
He added that offices which employ runaway maids — regardless of whether this is on a daily, weekly or monthly basis — will be forced to shut for six months the first time they are caught, for 12 months the second time, and banned from operating indefinitely if caught a third time.
Al-Habdan said that the measures are being taken to prevent housemaids from running away from their sponsors in search of better salaries and conditions. Illegal and runaway maids have become a huge problem for the authorities, with many recruitment offices and people employing them in temporary jobs paying them exorbitant prices.
Demand for maids increases during Ramadan with salaries reaching as high as SR3,000 per month. Advertisements for services are even broadcast on satellite television channels.
