There are Indonesian domestic workers who are interested in coming to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia under the sponsorship of the recruitment offices instead of the Saudi Families. This statement was made by the Saudi Consul in Jakarta, Turki Al Waeli to the Makkah Arabic Daily. The Saudi Consul, Al Waeli stated that the Indonesian Workers Union has taken a decision after closely studying the new regulations set up by the Ministry of Labor and Social Development of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in order to ensure an increased benefit, better facilities and higher monetary guarantees for all the workers who are under the sponsorship of the recruitment offices.

The Ministry of Labor and Social Development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia had announced on Monday that they would be willing to once again start the process of recruitment of the domestic workers from Indonesia. The Indonesian Workers Union is quite apprehensive about opening the door to family sponsorships. The Saudi Consul has stated that the demand for the Indonesian domestic workers in the Kingdom is increasing. Only last year 8500 work visas had been issued for the Indonesian workers in a period of lesser than eight months. This year 1500 visas have been issued already for the Indonesian workers. He also added that the number of visas issued for the Indonesian workers is expected to increase by around 40 percent.

Meanwhile, while answering a question brought forward by the Saudi Gazette, whether or not Indonesia will permit their domestic workers to come and work in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the head of the Consulate Affairs at the consulate of Indonesia in Saudi Arabia, Dede Achman Rifai, stated a simple “NO” and did not provide any sort of explanation or any further details on the matter. The head of the recruitment offices at the JCCI or Jeddah Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Yahya Al Mugbil has stated that the new approval of the ministerial decision has come as a positive move to once again resuming the recruitment of workers from Indonesia. Last May, Indonesia proceeded to ban their citizens from working as a domestic worker in 21 countries around the world. The Indonesian President Joko Widodo had already announced that he wanted to end the export of female workers from Indonesia.

The Ministry of Labor and Social Development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has increased the overall benefits as well as facilitated the process of hiring the workers under the sponsorship of the recruitment companies by ensuring the proper accommodation and increased bank insurance amongst other benefits.

1. The workers who are hired under the new sponsorship of the recruitment companies are not compelled to sleep in the houses of the Saudi families as they will be provided with their own accommodation by the Ministry of Labor and Social Development.
2. The recruitment offices will be permitted to hire a minimum of 50 workers and a maximum number of 200 workers.
3. The recruitment fees for these types of workers would be set at SAR 5,000.
4. The recruitment office must also have a bank guarantee of SAR 750,000.

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