RIYADH — The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (MHRSD) intends to implement a new mechanism in the near future in the process of recruiting domestic workers where there will be no role for brokers. According to the sources, the ministry is currently working out the process of developing the new experiment titled "Uniform Recruitment Journey," which is a mechanism that completely eliminates brokers and under which domestic worker visas will be granted after contracting with offices, accredited to the ministry, from the countries which are sending domestic workers. "The unified contract system defines all the rights and duties of each party in the contractual process, including employer, worker and owner of the recruitment office," the sources said while speaking to Okaz/Saudi Gazette. The ministry warned Saudi citizens and expatriates against being led by some misleading advertisements pertaining to recruitment. "What some recruitment brokers do is contrary to all regulations, whether in the Kingdom or the country, which sends domestic workers. "All the details of the licensed offices and companies are available on the Musaned website, which also consists of the evaluation of former clients of the recruitment offices and recruitment fees," the ministry said. The ministry emphasized that all these are being undertaken under strict monitoring on the part of the ministry. Referring to the percentage of commitment to documenting contracts by the recruitment offices and companies, the ministry stated that the percentage of commitment reached about 99 percent of the contracts documented during the first quarter of 2021. "The unified contract system has specified the entire rights and duties of all parties involved in the contractual process such as the employer, worker and owner of the recruitment offices." The ministry emphasized that in the event of canceling the contract five days after signing it, 40 percent of the contract value shall be paid to the client as cancelation fine and the recruitment office owner shall refund the amount to the client within two weeks of the cancelation. The ministry stated that the client has the right to cancel the contract within 120 days after signing of the contract if the worker failed to arrive, and is entitled to get an amount equivalent to 15 percent of the contract value that shall be levied as a fine from the recruitment office. Six factors for hike in recruitment fee The ministry sources told Okaz/Saudi Gazette that its inspection teams are continuously monitoring the prices of recruitment companies and offices. The ministry attributed the recruitment cost increase to mainly six factors, such as the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic; requirements for quarantine in the country of recruitment for a period of 14 days and the second medical test before their departure to the Kingdom; a hike of 15 to 33 percent in flight tickets; the cost of added value tax (VAT), in addition to the inability to recruit from certain cities in some countries due to the spread of the pandemic, and the requirement of PCR test before entering some capitals from villages and rural areas before departure to the Kingdom. All these factors have led to an increase in recruitment prices, the ministry said while seeking proposals and opinions aimed to improve the recruitment sector, the ministry said, while adding that the domestic worker contract is subject to the safety and medical standards of the Gulf medical examination system and the owner of the office cannot bypass it. Referring to illegal workers, the ministry clarified that it is the responsibility of the security authorities to deal with them.
