News: Saudi Arabia resumes Ethiopian domestic workers recruitment after three years of deferment, recruitment fee limits at $1,840

Addis Abeba: Saudi Arabia has announced the reopening of doors for domestic workers after three years long of deferment, limiting the recruitment fee for domestic agencies to 1,840 USD, the country’s local media reported.

The decision fits with the Ministry’s ongoing efforts to organize and regulate recruitment market prices as well as monitor and manage their implementation to guarantee the caliber of the services provided.

The Ministry of Human Resource and Social Development (MHRSD) has been making preparations urging local recruitment agencies to immediately contact their counterparts in Ethiopia to reactivate their accounts with the Saudi embassy, in Addis Abba, in a step to expedite the re-launch of recruitment from the country, World Gulf reported.

The ministry has issued a warning that organizations and agencies that are authorized to hire domestic workers in the nation must adhere to the established payment ceiling.

MHRSD has set the maximum cost for hiring a domestic worker from Ethiopia at 6,900 in riyals, exclusive of value-added tax (VAT). The payment ceiling set for Ethiopia is very low compared to other countries.

The maximum limit has been increased for a number of countries, bringing it to 9,500 for Uganda, 10,000 for Thailand, 10,870 for Kenya, 13,000 for Bangladesh, 17,288 for the Philippines, 15,000 for Sri Lanka, and 7,500 for Burundi in riyals.

This decision is said to be a part of the ministry’s endeavors to improve the quality of services and the labor market environment and enhance its attractiveness, keeping pace with the standard of the global labor markets.

The ministry has established the Musaned domestic labor program to assist clients in learning about their rights and responsibilities as well as other related services, such as visa issuance, recruitment requests, and the contractual relationship between the employer and the worker, according to World Gulf. It has also issued instructions governing the transfer of domestic workers’ sponsorship and rules for recruiting and presentation of labor services with the aim of strengthening the contractual connection and increasing market attractiveness.

A year ago, Addis Standard received several reports of detainees held in inhumane conditions in Saudi Arabia prisons. Ethiopians detained in Saudi Arabia’s prisons revealed that a crackdown on illegal, as well as legit, migrants targeted many Ethiopians. Nursing mothers, infants, and pregnant women were suffering in the prison without sufficient food, medicine, and a proper place to sleep, and urged the government to intervene, according to the detainees; complaining about Embassy and Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) officials abandoning their responsibilities and ignoring their pleas.

Ambassador Dina Mufti, former spokesperson of the MoFA, stated, by the time, that the conditions of Ethiopians who reside in the middle east are deteriorating from time to time, “There has been relentless pressure on Ethiopia from these countries lately and the situation should thoroughly be investigated,” admitting that the government failed to fully engage to help the stranded citizens in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries due to limited resources and security issues the country is facing. AS

Editor’s Note: This story is edited to correct the $1,840 recruitment fee which was reported as wage limit.