Who’s to enforce maids’ day off?

The Ministry of Labor’s recently approved decision to grant a weekly day off to domestic workers has been applauded, albeit with much skepticism regarding its enforcement.
“I would love to have a day off from cleaning, cooking and caring for my employer’s two small children. However, even with the ministry’s approval, I think most employers, including mine, will never implement such a system,” Masarah S., an Ethiopian housemaid, told Arab News.
Reya Martinez, a Filipino housemaid said: “I don’t believe most employers will give us a day off because they know that it can never be enforced. I mean, what will the ministry do? Will they send inspectors door-to-door to make sure domestic workers have a day off? It will never happen,” she said.
The system also includes guidelines instructing employers to open bank accounts for their domestic employees in efforts to solve claims that workers are not receiving their salaries. Bank statements will serve as evidence that payments are being delivered on a monthly basis.
“I think it would be better for drivers, maids and expatriate workers to have their own bank accounts, as this would allow them to wire their salaries to their families abroad,” Ghazi, a guard at an apartment building in Jeddah, said.
Yahya Makboul, a manager at the recruitment section of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), said the system is a positive means of organizing and solving many of the problems between employers and domestic workers.
“The system still allows the Saudi sponsor control over their employee’s recruitment status, but also rectifies claims that salaries are being withheld for months and that workers are being abused by being made to work over 20 hours a day, seven days a week, which are serious violations of the Saudi labor law and human rights,” Makboul said.
Makboul said that a penalty system is being worked out with fines of up to SR 10,000 that will be applied to sponsors who refuse to follow the new guidelines.