The Ministry of Labor has stopped the temporary recruitment of labor which was practiced by 328 recruitment offices in Saudi Arabia.

The ministry has directed the recruitment offices to either transfer the sponsorships of their expatriate labor working on a rental system or have them deported permanently before June 2015.

A source said that the ministry aims, through this decision to meet the needs of citizens who wish to hire domestic workers. It also aims to create more supply offers in this sector and provide licensed companies, which number 16, with foreign workers countrywide.

The source said that the ministry has granted the recruitment offices a grace period until May 30 to get rid of expatriate workers who work on a rental system or run the risk of having their licenses suspended.

An official in the Ministry of Labor earlier said that 13 private licensed recruitment companies are offering specialized services for renting maids in the four Saudi provinces of Riyadh, Makkah, Asir and the Eastern Province, on their Musanid (support) website for domestic help employment, which was launched Saturday.

The educational website enlightens workers and employers about their rights and duties, in accordance with the articles of the domestic workers' list. It also lists providers of domestic recruitment services.

He said the evaluation of the services offered for select offices and companies will be made available in the coming months. “Those who wish to benefit from the services of rented domestic labor can do so through Musanid,” he added.

Observers say recruitment offices have been practicing rental activities for more than 37 years, but this decision has brought it to a halt. The Ministry of Labor is currently working on the issuance of licenses to establish large recruitment companies to replace private recruitment offices according to the resolution of the Council of Ministers that was issued on June 1, 2011.

Meanwhile, the process of hiring labor according to the new regulations has been handed over to national recruitment companies that exist in some areas, in a step to organize the sector and meet the growing demand for expatriate labor, especially domestic labor.