JEDDAH — Recruitment offices are violating the Ministry of Labor's foreign labor regulations by increasing expatriates' monthly wages and banning them from having days off, according to a ministry source.
He said citizens have been complaining about the violations being committed by recruitment offices ever since the ministry updated its regulations on May 24.
“Citizens have reported some recruitment offices increased the monthly salaries of Bangladeshi workers from SR800 to SR1,000 and prolonged the waiting period from 120 days to 180 days.
“They reported the offices just scrabbled off the old numbers and added the new ones by hand on the contracts and forced their clients to sign them.”
He also said citizens reported they were threatened to either sign the contract without protesting or cancel their recruitment request.
“The ministry has granted recruitment offices a 25 percent payment guarantee if clients canceled their request at any stage of the recruitment process.
“These offices are using this regulation to earn money, forcing the clients to accept their alterations.”
He added the citizens also reported the offices rejected recruitment requests from clients after the ministry issued its new regulations.
The ministry regulations also include fine for the delay in the arrival of domestic workers. The recruitment firm shall pay SR100 for each day after the expiry of the 60-day period, with the condition that the maximum fine shall not exceed SR3,000.
