A batch of 55 illegal Sri Lankan workers who overstayed the amnesty period in Jeddah were handed to the Tarheel for repatriation by their consulate on Thursday.

First Secretary of the Sri Lankan Consulate in Jeddah, M.B.M. Zarook told Arab News on Sunday that the deportation of the domestic and non-domestic Sri Lankan workers of both genders were was delayed due to various technical reasons and that Saudi government officials had extended their fullest cooperation to resolve those issues.

The consulate had sent 13,500 illegal workers to Colombo during the amnesty period, Zarook said, pointing out that since January 2014 another 1,000 were repatriated with the help of the immigration department in Jeddah.

Following the end of the amnesty, the Sri Lankan missions in Jeddah and Riyadh have witnessed a sharp decline in the number of runaway housemaids.

“There is a remarkable decrease in the number of runaway housemaids coming to the Jeddah mission,” Zarook said, adding that the main reason for the fall in this category of maidservants is that those who are currently working in various households are afraid to run away from their homes fearing adverse consequences.

“Earlier, the Jeddah mission used to receive more than 100 runaway maids on a monthly basis but now it receives less than 10 maids a month,” he said.

Recently, a labor court in Jeddah asked two runaway housemaids to pay SR25,000 each to be deported to Colombo, their hometown.

Zarook explained that a Saudi sponsor spends more than SR20,000 to get a maid from Colombo. And to get a Muslim maid, the sponsor has to pay an additional SR5,000 along with the visa fees, agent’s fees and the airfare.

The Sri Lankan Embassy in Riyadh is also experiencing a similar drop in the number of runaway cases. Earlier, it used to see at least 10 maids a day, but now it hardly gets one maid a day.

An official from the embassy pointed out that another reason for the sharp drop in the runaway cases is that the two countries have streamlined the recruitment process.

“The maids are content with the minimum salary of SR900. The domestics are also given a proper orientation program prior to their arrival in the Kingdom and they are taught basic Arabic to familiarize with the local cultural environment,” he said.

Last year, 15 Saudi sponsors filed cases against Sri Lankan housemaids who ran away from their homes in the Eastern Province.

The sponsors claimed that they had spent around SR20,000 to SR25,000 each to recruit a maid from Colombo. It was alleged that the maids ran away shortly after their arrival in the Kingdom.

However, with the help of the local police, the sponsors arrested the runaway maids and brought them to book.

In their legal action, the Saudi sponsors claimed a reimbursement of the money spent on the recruitment of these maids to the Kingdom from the concerned parties.

In Colombo, there is a great demand for housemaids bound for Saudi Arabia. The agents had to lure these maids by paying them around SR5,000 prior to their departure to the Kingdom. On arrival in the Kingdom, the maids wanted to go back home giving false reasons and leaving their sponsors in the lurch.

According to the new labor contract introduced by the Sri Lankan government last year, a maid is entitled to get more than SR900 as her monthly salary in the Kingdom.