- JEDDAH: Indonesia could lose about SR6 billion annually as a result of its decision to ban Indonesian domestic workers from being employed in the Kingdom, according to Chairman of the National Recruitment Committee Saad Al-Baddah.
“About 1.5 million families in Indonesia will lose their sources of income as a result of this decision,” he told Al-Watan newspaper.
Al-Baddah described the decision to be “an internal affair of the Indonesian government” and said the Kingdom has many other alternative sources for recruitment of domestic help. The ban, announced by the Indonesian Ministry of Labor on Wednesday, is expected to take effect from August 1.
The newspaper quoted an unidentified source at the Indonesian Embassy in Riyadh as saying the ban would continue unless the two parties reached an agreement that would make it compulsory for Saudi employers to provide contracts to Indonesian workers providing them with enhanced protection.
The source reiterated that recruitment from Indonesia could only be resumed after the two labor ministries had signed this agreement.
