JEDDAH: The Ministry of Labor is to set up a commission for the protection of domestic labor to oversee the welfare of private house workers such as housemaids and drivers, Adil Fakieh, Minister of Labor, has said. “The commission will be tasked with protecting them should any violation of their rights occur and looking at any other problems they may be exposed to,” Fakieh told Okaz/Saudi Gazette. “The ministry will provide lawyers and translators to represent these foreign workers and ensure they can exercise their full rights.” Speaking in an interview on a variety of issues currently before the labor ministry, Fakieh said that a “package of measures” was being studied to tackle the illegal sale of work visas and make visa acquisition easier for organizations and individuals. “We are currently dealing with closing loopholes exploited by some unscrupulous people to misuse visas and trade in them,” he said. He said that the ministry had finished drawing up a law for a unified system of recruitment companies under his ministry's supervision. “It should start operating soon, and we expect it to help curtail workers going from job to job and at the same time fulfill the needs of the Saudi public in terms of extra workers in a set time related to urgent need,” he said. Fakieh reiterated, however, that his “primary concern” was to create job opportunities and “dignified work in both task and pay” for Saudi men and women, and noted a distinction between work that has no competition from Saudis and jobs held by foreign workers that could be carried out by Saudis. “We will be introducing specific procedures for foreign recruitment for the latter types of work,” he said. Fakieh added that his ministry was in continual contact with other ministries and bodies to produce university graduates with skills and qualifications sought by the job market. “That includes the ministries of Education and Higher Education, and any other authorities relevant to the provision of qualified national labor beneficial to the work sector,” he said. Minister Fakieh left his post as Mayor of Jeddah to join the Ministry of Labor following the death of previous incumbent Ghazi Al-Goseibi in August this year.
