JEDDAH: The Indonesian Consulate General in Jeddah has announced new conditions for recruitment following the Indonesian Embassy's introduction of the new contract governing the relationship between sponsors and house workers effective from March 1. The new conditions require details on the house and family members of the sponsor, including photographs and copies of identity cards for every member of the household and a certificate from the police confirming that the sponsor does not have a criminal record. Sponsors wishing to recruit a housemaid must have a monthly income of no less than SR6,000, a figure that rises to SR8,000 for the recruitment of a driver. The recruitment of a married couple to be employed as maid and driver requires the sponsor to have a monthly income of no less than SR12,000, a figure that rises to SR14,000 for the recruitment of an unmarried maid and driver. Sponsors employed in the public sector are required to provide full written details of their positions from their employers, while private sector employees are required to provide a bank account statement certified by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Potential sponsors are also asked to provide a signed job remit for workers, signed also by the private recruitment office, while the office is required to provide a copy of its license to operate with the copy certified by the Chamber of Commerce. Other conditions include a written pledge from the sponsor to “treat the Indonesian worker well” and refrain from any sort of physical or mental maltreatment and also sign a pledge approving consulate handling of “worker problems”. The Indonesian Embassy and consulate said that no recruitment contracts would be approved unless all conditions were met, and that it was the responsibility of the sponsor to ensure that all the new measures in the new contract for the recruitment of Indonesian workers were fulfilled. They further reminded that, in accordance with Article 16 of the contract, the contract must be registered with the Indonesian Embassy or consulate after having been signed by the first party and the recruitment office before a representative of the embassy or consulate. It must then in turn be signed by the Indonesian Workers Company and the second party – the worker – and certified by an official at the National Commission for the Employment and Protection of Indonesian Workers.
