JEDDAH, 23 August 2006 — The availability of housemaids for Saudi households will be fewer in numbers with the delayed arrival of Sri Lankan workers due to the ongoing ethnic conflict in the island state.
According to a report from Sri Lanka, its recruitment agencies are finding difficulty in sending housemaids due to government restrictions on the movement of workers in the affected areas.
“The situation will continue until all security arrangements that the government is currently planning are in place,” said a Sri Lankan travel agent. “We, therefore, would like to appeal to our Saudi counterparts to keep the delay (in the arrival of workers) in mind while making applications for our housemaids.”
Saad Al-Baddah, president of the Kingdom’s National Recruitment Committee, said that the problem is due to the fact that many of the maids that are recruited come from the conflict-torn Tamil region of the island country.
