DAMMAM: Foreign recruitment offices in the Eastern Province have said that at least three offices are still recruiting from Indonesia despite the region's Chamber of Commerce and Industry ordering a temporary halt to the process. The offices, sources say, are also charging higher than usual prices, with the recruitment of one Indonesian worker costing SR11,000, SR1,000 more than previously. The sources described the operations as tantamount to a black market, including promises to provide labor within two months, in contrast to current contracts, which state that, the process requires up to five months. “The offices have reduced the period through agreements with contracting offices in Jakarta so they both make a profit through local offices here raising costs,” they said. “These practices have become more widespread since the crisis over Indonesian labor hit an impasse,” a source said. The total official cost for recruitment agreed between Indonesia and Saudi Arabia is SR8,000, consisting of SR6,000 in recruitment costs and SR2,000 in visa fees. Offices say fees are high because of short labor supply in Indonesia and procedural difficulties brought on by recent problems that “exacerbated the situation”, the sources said. One investor said the temporary halt to maid recruitment from Indonesia is costing local offices between SR300,000 and SR400,000 a month, totaling approximately SR15 million in losses for some 50 offices in the Eastern Province.
