RIYADH — The Ministry of Labor is heading toward Uganda to import university graduate housemaids at a monthly salary of between SR800-SR1,000, Makkah daily reported on Monday quoting what it called a private source. A technical meeting between the Saudi and Ugandan sides was held on Sunday to lay the ground work for a bilateral agreement to be signed by the end of this week. The source said the Labor Ministry is planning to find new suppliers of house helps in Africa especially that some Southeast Asian countries have closed down their traditional markets in the face of Saudi Arabia even after signing agreements to the effect. The source said the signing of the recruitment agreement with Uganda will be an added value to the Kingdom because the highly-educated Ugandan housemaids may be used to teach English or work as nannies beside their house chores. Ugandan Ambassador, Rashid Semuddu, said during their negotiations with the Saudi side, they would highlight the educational capabilities of house helps imported from his country which has one of the three oldest universities in Africa. "The level of education in Uganda is very high. Therefore when they come here, the Ugandan housemaids will be of an outstanding added value to the Kingdom because they can also work as English-language teachers or nannies," he said. "The Ugandan labor minister will visit the Kingdom in a couple of days to sign an agreement with the Kingdom," he said. A number of GCC countries have preceded the Kingdom in opening their markets for the Ugandan housemaids. The United Arab Emirates has the largest share of housemaids from Uganda followed by Kuwait and Qatar. After signing of the accords, the Ugandan Labor Ministry will organize programs to enlighten its citizens about the Saudi labor market.
