Having spent sums of cash on recruiting maids from abroad, sponsors who are unhappy with their maids have two options — either send them back to their home countries on a final exit visa or transfer the sponsorship for a fee, something that would in the least allow them to regain part of the money they’ve invested in bringing the maids into the Kingdom.
However, many people view the process of “selling on” maids as a form of slavery.
Those who respond to such advertisements tend to be illegal recruitment offices. Sponsors who post advertisements do so in a very clandestine fashion and avoid giving their proper names and only pass on cell phone numbers.
A Saudi man, who called himself Abu Muhammad, had published an advertisement in a local newspaper. When contacted, he claimed he was from a Riyadh-based recruitment office.
“I am interested in transferring the sponsorship of maids to us so we can send them to work somewhere else,” he said. “Once the payment is made, the sponsorship is transferred and the deal is closed,” he added without elaborating further.
Another man, called Abu Jaber, again from a recruitment office in Riyadh, said the more experienced the maid, the more she costs. “We pay a higher amount for experienced maids according to how many years of experience she has and the skills she has regardless of nationality,” he said.
“We pay over SR9,000 for experienced maids who know how to clean, cook and wash and SR8,000 for new maids who have zero experience.”
Saudi lawyer Dr. Adel Sagga said recruitment offices are supposed to bring maids from abroad and not source them from within the Kingdom. “What is happening here is totally illegal because it’s not what they are licensed to do,” he said.
Muhammad Nayta, another Saudi lawyer, said that this is not a moneymaking business. “These people are trading in maids,” he said, adding that although he does not agree with how these people operate, he does not see it as a form of slavery because maids are not forced to work for a sponsor they do not like.
“In most cases, this is done with the maid’s consent. Transferring sponsorship is a normal thing that happens almost everyday. I don’t think this is illegal. However, they’re not supposed to recruit maids from within the Kingdom or transfer sponsorship,” he said.
Fuad Hamed, an Egyptian worker at a recruitment office, said prospective sponsors hire maids according to nationality, outlook and body figure. “I need the sponsor to give me all the details about the maid they are giving up like whether she is fat or slim because we need to know whether she is too heavy to run around the house or not,” said Hamed.
“We also need to know the nationality because people are very picky and when they ask us for maids they always insist on certain nationalities,” he added.
