Riyadh lifts ban, decides to hire domestic workers
Tuesday, 5 April 2011
FE Report
Saudi Arabia will resume recruiting Bangladeshi workers, especially domestic workers in four categories, ending a two year embargo on hiring from Bangladesh. The four categories are female domestic workers, house drivers, security guards and gardeners. Female workers will be able to go free of cost while male category workers will have to pay the ticket fees only. The assurance came Monday at a meeting between the visiting Saudi National Recruitment Committee (SANARCOM) and executive committee of Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA) in the city. A joint committee comprising BAIRA and SANARCOM members was formed in this connection to work on the process. After signing of an agreement, the process of recruitment will begin within the next one or two months, said a BAIRA statement. The statement didn't say how many workers will be employed by the Saudi authority. The committee reached a consensus on migration cost, salary and other benefits of potential house workers in the meeting on the basis of which a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will be signed between the two parties. At present, 2.5 million Bangladeshi workers are employed in the Kingdom, 1.8 million in the UAE, 0.5 million in Kuwait, 1.7 million in Qatar, 0.4 million in Oman and 0.215 million in Bahrain, said the BAIRA statement. Saad Nahar al-Baddah, chairman of SANARCOM, headed the eight-member delegation while BAIRA president Abul Basar and secretary general Ali Haider Choudhury spoke, among others, during the meeting. "Although initially four categories have been opened up, many other areas will be opened very soon through discussions," Abul Basar told the media after the meeting. The SANARCOM chairman, however, mentioned some conditions for the Bangladeshi workers like language skill, training on the rules, regulations and various social and security aspects where a certificate will be necessary after completing the training. "BAIRA and the government training agencies will provide the training while BAIRA will ensure quality after completing the training and take pre-departure interviews," said Mr Basar. Primarily, the salary for the housemaid was fixed as 600 Rial plus free accommodation and food while the salary for drivers was fixed as 800 Rial and for gardener and security guard as 600 Rial plus accommodation and food or 200 Rial cash. Earlier, the salary for housemaid was 500 Rial. "The front is open again and if a maid can perform good she can earn more after six months or one year and can serve her poor family here in Bangladesh. Step by step other fronts will be opened too as we will hold dialogue with our government regarding the labour issue," said Saad Nahar AL-Baddah. "But this time no six-seven agencies will do monopoly business in supplying housemaids as it happened earlier," he warned the Bangladeshi manpower business leaders. He said there are 150 categories Saudi Arabia recruits people from various countries across the world and now the country prefers skilled workers rather than unskilled ones. He stressed the need for training and a guarantee by a local guardian on behalf of the female workers as incidents of escaping have become very much annoying for Saudi authority. "This guarantee will be legally binding for BAIRA," he added. Ali Haider Choudhury told the delegates that BAIRA will provide the best quality training through its modern and well equipped training centre. The BAIRA leaders assured the Saudi official of opening up the new business front of exporting quality houseworkers to Saudi Arabia to all BAIRA members and guaranteed him of no individual marketing agent or middleman will be allowed neither by the ministry nor by BAIRA while sending female workers. Only SANARCOM certified companies will be allowed to import these workers and in Bangladesh BAIRA will control the process and stop illegal worker sending in these categories. The Saudi delegates expressed their deep concern about the excess migration cost paid by Bangladeshi poor workers, saying it forces workers to be involved in criminal activities and overstay in the country as they cannot recover the money they have paid to the recruiting agents. The BAIRA leaders and the SANARCOM members together identified the problems regarding excess migration cost, overtrading by the middlemen or brokers and decided to work together to protect the interest of both the countries through protecting workers' interest. From now on the migration cost to Saudi Arabia will be at best US$ 800 for house workers. For female it will be free. Besides the four categories, the Saudi delegation expressed its interest to recruit Bangladeshi graduate nurses with good English language skill and doctors.
Saudi Arabia will resume recruiting Bangladeshi workers, especially domestic workers in four categories, ending a two year embargo on hiring from Bangladesh. The four categories are female domestic workers, house drivers, security guards and gardeners. Female workers will be able to go free of cost while male category workers will have to pay the ticket fees only. The assurance came Monday at a meeting between the visiting Saudi National Recruitment Committee (SANARCOM) and executive committee of Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA) in the city. A joint committee comprising BAIRA and SANARCOM members was formed in this connection to work on the process. After signing of an agreement, the process of recruitment will begin within the next one or two months, said a BAIRA statement. The statement didn't say how many workers will be employed by the Saudi authority. The committee reached a consensus on migration cost, salary and other benefits of potential house workers in the meeting on the basis of which a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will be signed between the two parties. At present, 2.5 million Bangladeshi workers are employed in the Kingdom, 1.8 million in the UAE, 0.5 million in Kuwait, 1.7 million in Qatar, 0.4 million in Oman and 0.215 million in Bahrain, said the BAIRA statement. Saad Nahar al-Baddah, chairman of SANARCOM, headed the eight-member delegation while BAIRA president Abul Basar and secretary general Ali Haider Choudhury spoke, among others, during the meeting. "Although initially four categories have been opened up, many other areas will be opened very soon through discussions," Abul Basar told the media after the meeting. The SANARCOM chairman, however, mentioned some conditions for the Bangladeshi workers like language skill, training on the rules, regulations and various social and security aspects where a certificate will be necessary after completing the training. "BAIRA and the government training agencies will provide the training while BAIRA will ensure quality after completing the training and take pre-departure interviews," said Mr Basar. Primarily, the salary for the housemaid was fixed as 600 Rial plus free accommodation and food while the salary for drivers was fixed as 800 Rial and for gardener and security guard as 600 Rial plus accommodation and food or 200 Rial cash. Earlier, the salary for housemaid was 500 Rial. "The front is open again and if a maid can perform good she can earn more after six months or one year and can serve her poor family here in Bangladesh. Step by step other fronts will be opened too as we will hold dialogue with our government regarding the labour issue," said Saad Nahar AL-Baddah. "But this time no six-seven agencies will do monopoly business in supplying housemaids as it happened earlier," he warned the Bangladeshi manpower business leaders. He said there are 150 categories Saudi Arabia recruits people from various countries across the world and now the country prefers skilled workers rather than unskilled ones. He stressed the need for training and a guarantee by a local guardian on behalf of the female workers as incidents of escaping have become very much annoying for Saudi authority. "This guarantee will be legally binding for BAIRA," he added. Ali Haider Choudhury told the delegates that BAIRA will provide the best quality training through its modern and well equipped training centre. The BAIRA leaders assured the Saudi official of opening up the new business front of exporting quality houseworkers to Saudi Arabia to all BAIRA members and guaranteed him of no individual marketing agent or middleman will be allowed neither by the ministry nor by BAIRA while sending female workers. Only SANARCOM certified companies will be allowed to import these workers and in Bangladesh BAIRA will control the process and stop illegal worker sending in these categories. The Saudi delegates expressed their deep concern about the excess migration cost paid by Bangladeshi poor workers, saying it forces workers to be involved in criminal activities and overstay in the country as they cannot recover the money they have paid to the recruiting agents. The BAIRA leaders and the SANARCOM members together identified the problems regarding excess migration cost, overtrading by the middlemen or brokers and decided to work together to protect the interest of both the countries through protecting workers' interest. From now on the migration cost to Saudi Arabia will be at best US$ 800 for house workers. For female it will be free. Besides the four categories, the Saudi delegation expressed its interest to recruit Bangladeshi graduate nurses with good English language skill and doctors.