According to spokesman of the Ministry of Labor Hattab bin Saleh Al-Anzi, the Kingdom will no longer hire Indonesian domestic workers, citing strict requirements and unfair regulatory provisions imposed by the country. Indonesia prohibited its citizens from working as domestic servants in Saudi Arabia after the beheading of a maid convicted of murdering her Saudi employer. The ban started on Aug. 1 and remains in place until the Saudi government agrees to sign a memorandum of understanding to protect Indonesian workers’ rights.
The ban has led to a sudden increase in salaries of maids in Saudi Arabia to between SR1,500 and SR2,000. As a replacement, Saudi families have started looking for Ethiopian maids who have been living in the Kingdom for many years. However, Ethiopian maids’ salaries have also increased, due to the recruitment crisis.
Arab News spoke to a number of recruitment offices that confirmed the desire of Saudi families to bring Ethiopian maids in place of Indonesian maids.
Abu Hassan, owner of a recruitment office in Jeddah, stated that Ethiopian maids are now popular among Saudi families.
“Most families ask for Indonesian maids, but we are unable to bring them from Indonesia. We cannot make promises either, as we have no news about any new development on this front. We advise families to try Ethiopian maids,” he said.
Abu-Hassan added that recently, his office brought 17 Ethiopian maids. “The contract was free of requirements, except the sponsorship ID and a fixed salary of SR800 a month.”
Ghazi Omar Ghourab, a member of the recruitment committee at Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, confirmed that many rumors had been published in the media about the issue, but nothing officially had been announced so far.
“The issue of Indonesian maids is still pending. There are reports that a solution would be found by the yearend. However, no decisions have been announced so far,” he said.
Saudi officials had announced plans to hire more domestic workers from Ethiopia, India, Nepal, Eritrea, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Mali and Kenya. “Most Saudi families, nevertheless, are waiting for a decision to bring Indonesian maids again,” said Ghourab.
Some families prefer to hire Indonesian maids who are already in the Kingdom even if the salary is very high. Sara Al-Amoudi, a Saudi teacher, pays high fees for Indonesian maids, just to avoid maids with other nationalities.
“My kids prefer Indonesian maids to any other nationality. Recently, I brought an Ethiopian maid on a salary of SR800, but my kids didn't like her. I returned her to the recruitment office and hired an Indonesian maid locally.”
