Legal experts have warned against a new form of human trafficking practiced by some people as they offer to hand over maids for charges of up to SR25,000 by publishing advertisements through the social media.

“This is a kind of human trafficking. Legal action should be taken against people involved in such practices,” one expert said.

People have been using the social media to circulate such ads and the prices they charged ranged between SR20,000 and SR25,000, depending on the maid’s nationality.

Lt. Col. Ahmed Al-Laheedan, spokesman of the Passport Department, said his department still provides the service to change sponsorship of maids whenever required.

“The creation of a black market for maids through the Internet should be stopped by relevant authorities,” he said.

Omar Al-Kholi, a legal consultant with the Human Rights Commission, said the HRC had not received any complaints from citizens about such maid transfers through the social media.

“What we can do in this matter is to educate the public against those illegal practices that could be utilized to cheat them,” he said.

Al-Kholi urged authorities to give exceptions for maids and other domestics to change their sponsorships quickly and easily to prevent the emergence of a black market that exploits the needs of Saudi families.

Hassan Basnawi, a Saudi, emphasized the need for bringing maids and other house servants under the supervision of a government agency to protect their rights and prevent their abuse by individual sponsors. “Another possibility is to bring them under the supervision of their embassies,” he told Arab News.

The Council of Ministers recently passed a new law that protects the rights of domestic workers as well as their employers. The law allows them to enjoy nine-hour free time daily, a weekly day-off, one-month paid vacation after every two years and medical leave.

“The law aims at regulating relationship between domestic helpers and their employers while explaining their rights and duties and punishment for violators of contract terms,” said Labor Minister Adel Fakeih.

The employer will have the right to put the worker in probation for not more than three months. “This will help the employer understand whether the worker can do the job and how he/she behaves,” Fakeih said.

The workers should respect the teachings of Islam and the Kingdom’s rules and regulations and carry out their duties perfectly, the law said. They should obey the employer and his family members and protect their property and should not harm children or elderly members and keep family secrets.