Okaz/Saudi Gazette RIYADH — The Administrative Court will next month consider a lawsuit filed by owners of several recruitment offices against the Labor Ministry asking it to rescind its decisions No. 3207 and 3208 which make it obligatory on them to decide the time of recruitment and the method of paying the fees. Majed Al-Haqqas, spokesman of the recruitment offices, said it would be impossible for them to implement these decisions which are not only harmful to the office owners but are also against the spirit of market competition. He accused the ministry of endeavoring to mitigate the role of the offices in favor of the large recruitment companies with huge capital. "The ministry is trying to expel us completely from the scene to enable big recruitment companies control the market completely disregarding the theory of demand and supply," he said. Owners of 38 recruitment offices from various parts of the Kingdom met in Riyadh recently to decide the future course of action in the wake of the ministry's decisions which they considered unfair. Under the decisions, the time set for the arrival of a housemaid n the Kingdom is 60 days maximum and any delay of arrival after this time will be punishable by fines. The offices are also asked to make a down payment of 25 percent of the contract value. Al-Haqqas also said more than 400 recruitment offices in the Kingdom have suffered huge financial losses because of the fake recruitment brokers and because five countries have stopped exporting house helps to the Kingdom. "As a result, the recruitment fees have gone up by more than 200 percent and the problems started to crop up between the housemaids and the employers," he said. He said the brokers have appeared in the market because the foreign recruitment offices are not linked to the local recruitment offices. Haqqas said the problems between the families and the housemaids are increasing because the brokers import housemaids without accredited contracts. He said a number of recruitment offices have gone bankrupt and have subsequently dismissed all their Saudi employees. Four agencies closed Meanwhile, the has ordered closed four labor recruitment agencies for their refusal to process recruitment applications. The ministry is leading an initiative to cancel an agency's license if it refused to practice recruitment activities. According to Al-Watan's source, the Ministry of Labor has already canceled four licenses so far. The ministry stated that recruitment agencies that fall under the its responsibility and authority have one year only to mend any violations or practices that go against the regulations. The ministry said it would adhere to very rigid penalties in regards to violations. Earlier this year, the ministry issued several decisions to organize and develop the market of domestic workers' employment. The decisions governed recruitment fees that citizens pay and improved the level of services to increase competitiveness among agencies.
