19,000 cases of runaway maids reported last year

JEDDAH, 27 April — More than 19,000 cases of fleeing housemaids were reported last year, Al-Riyadh newspaper quoted an official of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs as saying.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

Awadh Al-Radadi, undersecretary at the ministry attributed the increasing tendency among the housemaids to escape from their employers mainly to the failure of the employers to pay the maids their monthly salaries regularly.

In some cases housemaids took to flight to escape ill-treatment by members of the employer’s family living in the house. There were also cases in which the housemaids were being influenced by their compatriots who tempt them to run away. Some housemaids said they ran away because they were unable to continue their job due to physical exhaustion or home sickness.

Housemaids of all nationalities particularly Indonesians, Filipinos, and Sri Lankans, run away from their sponsors, Al-Radadi said.

The department in the ministry handling ‘fleeing maids’ issue does not entertain cases of maids who suffer from contagious diseases or are involved in criminal acts. The ministry provides food and lodging to fleeing maids until the settlement of their cases when either they return to their former employees or are deported to their home countries. However, the ministry does not provide refuge to housemaids who have some dispute with their sponsors.

The official also urged sponsors to take good care of housemaids and not to create circumstances that occasion their flight, the newspaper reported.