Jakarta terms for recruitment of domestics rejected

The Labor Ministry has rejected Indonesia’s conditions for resuming the recruitment of domestic labor from that country, especially in light of the policy calling for diversification of the sources of employment and ongoing negotiations with other countries, according to ministry sources.
The sources said that negotiations between the Ministry of Labor and Indonesian authorities were vague and incomplete and that the majority of offices were unaware of the details regarding labor recruitment.
They said that stalled negotiations based on the question of salary were being complicated by the fact that most Indonesian domestic workers wishing to continue working after the end of their 24-month agreement were having their contracts renewed in Jakarta with a minimum wage of SR1,200.
The dispute over the minimum wage is likely related to legal procedures in the Kingdom and Indonesia seeks to be involved, especially with regard to problems faced by its nationals during their employment in Saudi Arabia.
The sources confirmed that the agreement with Vietnam is an important step in the effort to diversify sources of employment, but the problem lies in the scarcity of Vietnamese domestic employees. They said opening the door to recruiting labor from the Philippines will not contribute to creating a balance between supply and demand, an issue that is directly playing a role in increasing recruitment costs. Currently, recruitment costs vary between SR17,000 and SR19,000, while arrival times of workers to the Kingdom takes between six to eight months.
While Indonesia represents a plausible solution to bridging the gap between supply and demand in the domestic labor market, there still remains great difficulty in overcoming the existing differences between the two parties, thus forcing the ministry to explore alternative sources capable of providing domestic workers in large numbers.
Sources said that the average monthly salary of domestic workers from Indonesia ranges between SR1,200 and SR1,300, while the cost of labor recruitment from Indonesia will be about SR13,000, assuming that the differences between the two parties are resolved.