JEDDAH, 22 December 2002 — Saudi missions abroad will start applying today a unified employment contract for recruitment of labor.
Labor visas will not be issued without the new contract being signed between recruiting agencies in Saudi Arabia and their counterparts abroad.
The National Labor Import Committee has finished translating the contract into English and is distributing the printed copy to recruitment offices all over Saudi Arabia.
The unified contract contains 28 sections, which guarantee the rights of recruitment offices and foreign manpower. Section 1 explains the responsibility of the first party (labor recruitment contractor) that the hired workers should not have any kind of physical disability or suffer from any infectious or other diseases that prevent them from working for 90 days from the date of arrival in the Kingdom. The employee’s work must match the job in the application. In case the worker refuses to work without assigning any reason, or abscond from his employer, then the employer must replace the worker at his own expense. The first party will undertake not to demand any money from workers under any pretext.
The contract obligates that neither side should deal with middlemen or any other office unconnected with the recruitment. The first party will bear the expenses to send home the workers who either refuse to work, abscond or prove themselves unfit to work for health reasons.
It is binding on the first party to get medical reports from government hospitals and labor examination centers for workers who play truant or refuse to work.
The first party should inform the worker about the work conditions, regulations and restrictions in Saudi Arabia. The employer should have a contract ready explaining the salary and benefits, if any. The employer must make sure of the employee’s intention to work for the entire duration of the contract.
Section 18 of the contract says that if there is a breach of contract by the employer with regard to employment start-up, with no valid excuse and supporting documents, he will be required to pay a penalty for each day the worker is held up.
Section 19 stipulates that the first party should not enter into agreement with more than three recruitment offices abroad. The first party should not give the passport or tickets to any worker to leave the country on his own , but instead give it at the point of exit.
Section 23 of the contract states that any dispute between the two parties will be settled with the National Labor Import Committee whose decision will be final. The committee will follow up on the contracts with recruitment agencies in the labor exporting country.
Saudi recruitment offices will be committed to the unified contract, and watch out for any breach of government regulations.
A committee of the ministry of interior, commerce, labor and social affairs, and the National Labor Import Committee studied the contract thoroughly before enforcing it. The committee’s recommendations were approved by Interior Minister to Prince Naif.
The unified contract system evoked critical reactions in six countries, namely India, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.
Sources told Al-Madinah that some recruitment offices faced difficulties in getting the contract endorsed in Philippines and Sri Lanka where labor unions would not agree on the new system.
Saudi recruitment agencies criticized the National Labor Import Committee for its reluctance to deal decisively with Sri Lanka and Philippines for not agreeing to implement the new system. They said they have not signed a single contract with agencies in these countries and have stopped importing their workers. This might cost the national agencies half a million dollars from the first day the new system is applied.
Al-Madinah contacted the president of the National Labor Import Committee, Waleed Al-Sowaydan, who is currently in Philippines trying to convince officials about the unified contract, which safeguards the rights of both Saudi recruitment offices and foreign workers. Philippines has resisted the system whereas Sri Lanka endorsed it.
