Cairo: Saudi authorities have taken legal action against 25 house labour recruitment offices in the kingdom for committing various violations.
The Ministry of Human Resources said licences of 21 offices operating in recruiting domestic labour have been withdrawn for their non-compliance with related regulations.
The ministry explained that the licence withdrawal came after these offices had failed to pay up due compensation for clients, employing illegal workers and paying recruitment costs outside an official platform.
Four other recruitment offices have been suspended over delay in arrival of contracted labour and non-compliance with rules pertaining to recruitment and service provision, according to the ministry.
Saudi labour authorities have recently sought to regulate the domestic labour market in the kingdom.
The Ministry of Human Resources launched Musaned, a platform responsible for domestic labour, to help customers learn about their rights and duties, and related services including visa issuance, recruitment requests and the contractual relation between the employer and the worker.
The ministry has said it is necessary to conduct contracting via the Musaned, being the official recruitment platform.
Last October, Saudi Arabia unveiled new rules for employing domestic workers, setting the worker’s minimum age at 21 years as part of efforts to preserve contractual rights.
The regulations stress that the dues owed to the worker or his/her heirs are considered first-degree debts.
The contract should have a fixed duration, and if not, it will be considered renewable for one year from the date of the worker doing the job.
Domestic workers in Saudi Arabia include housekeepers, drivers, housemaids, cleaners, cooks, guards, farmers, live-in nurses, tutors and nannies.
