Okaz/Saudi Gazette DAMMAM — The Musanid e-portal of the Ministry of Labor and Social Development is yet to have the provision of Unified Contract (UC) for recruitment of housemaids. The contract was to be implemented from Monday. Industry sources believe that this was a clear indication that the ministry has started having second thoughts about the implementation of the UC. They said the portal still contains the old contract which the recruitment offices should abide with when recruiting housemaids from outside. Under the UC, the recruitment offices should pay about 30 percent of the value of the contract in case the arrival of the housemaid in the Kingdom is delayed by more than 90 days. The recruitment offices objected to this and said they might not have any hand in the delay in the arrival of housemaids as this was the responsibility of the recruitment offices in the countries exporting them. They said the fine was doubled from 15 percent to 30 percent which would be too high for them and would not earn them any profits. The UC also makes it imperative on the recruitment offices to receive the housemaids on arrival at the airport and set up accommodations for them. A special track was built at King Khaled International Airport in Riyadh on an experimental basis before it was generalized to cover all airports in the Kingdom. The housemaids will come out through this track to avoid chaos or escaping. The concerned recruitment offices in Riyadh refused to receive a number of housemaids from the Philippines who arrived on Monday. Sources said some housemaids from the Philippines might change their minds at the last minute about work in the Kingdom preferring to go to other countries or find jobs at their home, Hakeem Al-Khinaizi, owner of a recruitment office, said more than four months have passed since some work visas from Uganda have been issued and asked who was responsible for this delay. Mustapha Al-Abdul Jabbar, another owner of a recruitment office, said the fact that the new UC has not been put into Musanid e-portal does not mean that the ministry has changed its mid about it or considering to put it off.
