Abu Dhabi: The Saudi Ministry of Commerce has released guidelines showing the right way to refer to domestic workers.
Having adopted structured government policy to protect the rights of domestic workers and cater for their welfare, the ministry stressed the importance of adhering to the regulations for job placements.
Under the regulations, job placements should not contain any words or phrases that would prejudice the dignity of expatriate workers, domestic workers and those of similar status.
The rules include, but are not limited to, the use of the phrases: ‘for sale’, ‘for purchase’ or ‘for assignment’. These should be replaced with the phrase ‘transfer of services’.
Advertisements must not also include the word ‘servant’, which must be replaced by the word ‘worker’.
The ministry stressed that a job placement should not include personal photos, identity cards, residency, or any other personal data of expatriate workers or domestic workers.
Placements should not include any financial costs for workers in exchange for transferring their service in any way, according to the ministry.
The new regulations also provide for obtaining the consent of the workers before transferring their services, and that a placement does not include a reference to any money for the transfer of services in any way.
The ministry said penalties will be imposed upon offenders who publish any placement that violates the rights and dignity of workers or human rights laws.
