There are several Indonesian women brokers actively involved in the flourishing trade.

One Saudi family has to pay up to SR1,500 as monthly salary in addition to SR500 as brokerage to hire a maid.

Before, the salary for a domestic help ranged between SR900 and SR1,000. There has been a slight increase in this cost during the holy month of Ramadan and the Haj season. The brokerage was not more than SR200 previously.

After announcing the decision to suspend the recruitment of Indonesian workers from Feb. 14, the National Recruitment Committee at the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry advised recruitment offices not to process any work visas for Indonesians, claiming the Indonesian Labor Federation had failed to abide by the terms and conditions of a bilateral agreement.

The decision has prompted several Saudi families to approach manpower recruitment offices with a request to withdraw their visa applications and obtain a refund. They are also now turning to the black market. Some Indonesian women living in the holy city have several maids on their books and anybody can hire them if they fulfill their conditions. The scope of the Indonesian maid trade was unearthed during a raid carried out by the Passport officials at Al-Oteibiya, one of the undeveloped districts in the city.

Maj. Saleh Al-Qahtani, commander of Passport patrol units in Makkah, said that 33 illegal residents, including Indians and Indonesians, were arrested in the raid on a residential flat in the district on Monday. This was the second raid in the last 10 days. The arrested foreigners were engaged in various illegal activities.

One of the arrested women confessed to officials that she was working as a broker for maids.

The Passport Department has intensified raids in the holy city, especially in undeveloped districts at the start of the Umrah season.

Al-Qahtani urged residents not to contribute to this illegal practice and to inform authorities if they know of anyone engaged in such acts.