Hourly wage scheme for housemaids readied

A new housemaid service called “Raha” will be launched that allows families to hire house-help on an hourly wage, according to Saad Baddah, chairman of the National Commission for Recruitment.
The service, which will be supervised by the Committee, is expected to alleviate problems faced by families hiring maids.
The new service will eliminate disorganized recruitment of housemaids, he said.
There would not a long waiting period to hire domestic workers, and it would also help minimize the role of foreign markets imposing unfair conditions to recruit domestic workers.
The service will also eliminate the practice of domestic workers’ running away. It also eliminates middlemen who hire maids.
Baddah declined to disclose the nationalities of maids who are expected to be hired under the scheme or their wages.
He said details will be announced when the service becomes operational.
He said the National Commission for Recruitment does not negotiate with other countries when it comes to recruitment of domestic workers, and that it was the responsibility of the Ministry of Labor to do so as was decided two years ago.
Many Saudi families hire maids to work for limited hours since they do not have enough space or room to allow maids to live.
The Labor Ministry has announced plans to target new destinations in search of Arab housekeepers in order to reduce the demand for Indonesian and Ethiopian domestic help.
The Labor Ministry took the initiative of contacting officials in 15 Arab countries despite the fact that most Arab countries have not officially agreed to send housemaids to work in the Kingdom.
Deputy Minister for International Affairs Ahmed F. Alfehaid confirmed that the Ministry had already prepared a Memorandum of Understanding to be signed once any of these countries agree to send housekeepers to work in the counter.