Demand for maids goes up ahead of Ramadan

Jeddah: With maids in high demand for Ramadan, many women are doing everything they can to hold onto these workers, while others are searching for help through recruitment agencies.

They are making sure that their maids do not abscond because of the increased workload in terms of cooking and cleaning for visitors during Ramadan, even boosting salaries and providing other benefits, a local publication reported recently.

Umm Bashar Alawi, a housewife, said she waited 13 months for her maid. She said that while her maid did receive a good offer about a month ago, she was not likely to leave.

“I don’t expect her to leave because I really pamper and spoil her.”

Umm Omar Al-Harthi, a nurse, said she has been looking for a maid through a recruitment agency. She knows it is going to cost her a great deal of money, but says she has little choice. “But my greatest fear is that the maid will run away. I’m looking for a maid at a salary that I can afford.”

Another woman, Eman Mahmoud, said: “I give my maid everything she asks for, especially at this time of the year with Ramadan approaching. I am sure she is using me as much as she can, but what can I do, I don’t have any other alternative.”

The Ministry of Labor has recently given recruitment offices and firms a grace period of six months to comply with new regulations on the hiring of all domestic workers, including maids.

All offices and firms are now obliged to replace a domestic worker if the person is found to be unsuitable within 90 days. They have to ensure that workers undergo medical checks and do not have criminal records.

They can deduct money from the salaries of workers for violations. Every recruitment firm must provide a bank guarantee of SR750,000 every year to renew their licenses to operate in the market, the publication reported. Arab News reported earlier this week that the ministry has issued 1 million foreign worker visas to 10 recruitment companies for small, medium and large enterprises, to speed up projects in the Kingdom.