JEDDAH: The Ministry of Labor denied reports of signing an exclusive bilateral agreement with the Republic of Sudan for the recruitment of female domestic workers, according to spokesman Tayseer Al-Mofrej.

He said the list of permitted countries from which to recruit are indicated on the ministry’s website, and these are not necessarily confined to the recruitment of women, but also include the recruitment of male domestic workers in a number of professions, such as home nurses, guards, drivers, chefs, gardeners and the like.

He said the commonly used term “household worker” means all professions for work inside or outside the home for the benefit of individuals.

“Many countries that permit the recruitment of domestic labor have laws and regulations that do not permit the recruitment of female domestic workers,” said Al-Mofrej.

He called on all sources to assure accuracy in reporting news, all of which can be verified by the official website of the ministry and its various social networking sites.