Saudi Arabia has set a deadline in November for the signing of the housemaids’ agreement with Indonesia, said Mahdi Al-Hamid, secretary of the national committee for the Indonesian Domestic Workers Union (IMWU).
He said a delegation would visit Saudi Arabia in the next two weeks to meet officials at the Indonesian Consulate in Jeddah. The delegation will review the arrangements and conditions for reopening the recruitment process of Indonesian domestic workers. They will also discuss the main obstacles hindering the progress of the process.
The officials stressed that specifying a monthly salary of SR1,200 for the housemaid and a day off per week, on Friday, is their most important demand.
If the maid is to work during that day, she is entitled to an extra SR50. The other conditions include a comprehensive insurance for the worker and opening a bank account to transfer the monthly salary.
Al-Hamid said the Saudi government is treating all domestic help in a civilized manner, hoping that paths of recruitment reopen again, and all obstacles and problems will be overcome.
The Ministry of Labor said earlier that negotiations with the Indonesians on the recruitment of Indonesian domestic workers are still ongoing, and have reached the final stages.
A source at the ministry said once both sides sign the framework of the agreement, recruitment from Jakarta will resume, similar to the process with the Philippine domestic workers.
The negotiations between Riyadh and Jakarta came on the backdrop of halting recruitment from the country in June 2011. The cabinet approved mandating the Minister of Labor to sign bilateral agreements with the countries from which Saudi Arabia will recruit domestic help.
Indonesia stipulated terms and conditions for re-exporting domestic workers, which include submitting a statement on the number of family members, a sketch for the location of the house, an introductory letter from the Ministry of Labor, the monthly salary and the list of tasks that the worker will be tasked with.
November is deadline for Indonesian housemaids’ agreement
