Ministry to probe hike in recruitment fees

The rise in fees of recruiting companies is because of demand for labor in general and domestic labor in particular especially in light of the limited number of countries exporting labor, according to a survey conducted recently by the Labor Ministry.
Ziyad Al-Sayegh of the Ministry of Labor said the survey, which had been conducted by a specialized team from the ministry, had concluded that the high fees were due to labor exporting countries placing many conditions and demanding high wages for their nationals and additional payments to the middle-men.
Al-Sayegh added that the ministry is trying to find solutions that suit both parties through signing agreements with Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia and the Philippines.
He said that the ministry is currently communicating with other countries to sign more recruitment agreements in order to maintain price stability in the labor market.
He said that the ministry had issued licenses to 16 private recruitment companies, and that some of them had already started work. These are specialized companies and have a legal responsibility; they aim to serve the security, social and economic interest of the Kingdom by assuming the responsibility of recruiting expatriate laborers, and managing their employment in various economic activities.
Recruitment companies are obliged to start their operations within a year of being issued licenses, and the ministry can extend the grace period by six months upon the decision of the minister.
The ministry, according to Article 55 of the law of private recruitment companies, can revoke the license if companies don’t start their operations within one year of receiving the license.
Al-Sayegh said that in light of inspections and follow ups of the ministry’s officials and inspectors to verify the financial capacity of the company, and the expertise of its directors in the recruitment field, in addition to the support it receives from relevant government bodies, to address any shortcomings of the company, which includes the limited number of countries that export domestic labor, some recommendations had been made regarding the internal rules and regulations of some government agencies.
“But most companies are still in the founding stage focusing more on selecting their employees, offices, expatriate accommodation and marketing mechanisms,” he said.
He added that recruitment companies haven’t complied with the new regulations of the Labor Ministry yet, weakening dealings with these companies. “The best solution is for the ministry to offer incentives to these companies as they meet the domestic labor needs in the private sector,” he said.