Baddah, Chairman of the National Committee for Recruitment, has said that a memorandum for the recruitment of workers from Tajikistan would be signed in Riyadh soon. Al-Baddah said the approval had been given by Tajikistani authorities, and that recruitment agreements with several other countries would be disclosed soon following their approval. Al-Baddah also addressed the increasing trend of workers to try and escape their sponsors and attributed the problem to a lack of deterrent. “Breaches of contract go unpunished, so workers resort to escaping from their employers. The solution is to set a fingerprinting system and investigate runaway workers to identify their employers and punish both parties,” Al-Baddah said. “If Saudi nationals or those who shelter escaped workers were denounced in the press, runaway workers would not find anyone to help them,” he added. “Another solution is to establish recruitment companies to supply workers in a legal fashion. Any workers who fled from their employers would not find employment other than in positions giving them the salaries they merit,” he said. Al-Baddah noted that he proposed in 2005 a reduction in work permit and recruitment fees by which the applicant would pay SR500 for the first visa for a position, SR1000 for the second request and increasing sums for each application thereafter, while taking into consideration the financial status of each family, with the aim of encouraging employers to offer conditions that give their employees incentives to stay with them. Al-Baddah said he was pleased to be able to retable the proposal and discuss it at the Shoura Council.
