Saudi Gazette report RIYADH — The Interior Ministry has completely closed the door before the Labor Ministry to reimport manpower from Thailand, local Arabic daily Al-Watan reported on Sunday. The Labor Ministry has sought the approval of the Interior Ministry to resume manpower recruitment from Thailand that has been on hold for many years. In its written reply, the latter recalled the supreme orders issued more than nine years ago prohibiting manpower recruitment or any kind of cooperation with Thailand. The orders also called for finding solutions to the pending issues between the two countries. The Labor Ministry's request to reimport housemaids from Thailand indicated a severe shortage in the domestic helpers market. The ministry justified its request to be allowed to recruit housemaids from Thailand by claiming that housemaids from the usual domestic labor-exporting countries asked for certain terms and conditions that were difficult for the Kingdom to fulfill. The Kingdom has stopped recruitment of housemaids from Indonesia and the Philippines after the two southeast Asian countries asked for contracts that would ensure better rights for their housemaids. In its letter to the Interior Ministry, the Labor Ministry expressed its desire to open new markets to import housemaids from in order to put an end to the monopoly of certain countries on this market. The ministry indicated that it was considering new markets including Thailand, saying that Thai housemaids are skilled and well trained. A number of investors in the manpower recruitment sector also asked for the importing of housemaids from Thailand to resume in order to break up the monopoly of the market. The investors also believed that Thai housemaids were less costly to recruit and good at their jobs. Relations between Riyadh and Bangkok have been strained over the past few decades. Saudi citizens are not allowed to travel to Thailand without official consent from the Ministry of Interior and provincial governorates.
