DAMMAM: The Recruitment Committee at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the Eastern Province has asked national officials to request that the Ministry of Labor stop issuing work visas to Indonesian maids, a step that would put pressure on Jakarta to commit to the memorandum of understanding signed by the two sides and stop increasing recruitment fees. Hussien Al-Muttari, a member of the Recruitment Committee, said a letter has been sent to the National Committee for Recruitment asking it to ensure that the Ministry freezes visas for Indonesian maids. He sees the step as an important one to decrease the number of work visas at the Saudi Embassy in Jakarta, which has reached more than 100,000, and pointed out that it should pressure Indonesian recruitment agencies and meddlers to abide by cost ceilings. Fees were fixed at SR 6,000, but Indonesian agencies have increased them to SR8,000. Al-Muttari said the Recruitment Committee hopes the ministry responds to the demand and that it either temporarily halts the issuance of the work visas or it cuts the number of visas it issues in half. He said that private recruitment offices in the Kingdom must stop receiving new applications from citizens seeking Indonesian maids because as the demand increases, recruitment agencies in Indonesia will not stop their maneuvers. He said the decision would make it clear to Indonesian agencies that they should remember that the Saudi labor market is the largest in the region for Indonesian housemaids.
