The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Labor and Social Development has launched a new service to ease the recruitment of foreign domestic workers from the Philippines in Saudi Arabia, reducing the recruitment charges for Filipino domestic workers by 50%. Following this news, the demand for Filipino domestic workers in the Kingdom underwent an unprecedented increase, reports HelperChoice.com. The leading ethical platform for the recruitment of domestic workers received more than 10,000 new job adverts in less than 3 days.
In 2015, the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Labor and Social Development decided to facilitate the recruitment of foreign domestic workers by digitalising the process through their own domestic labour recruitment website, Musaned. Thanks to Musaned, employers are able to hire a domestic worker without the need to visit a recruitment agency. They can obtain a domestic worker e-visa in three days as long as they meet the financial, social and legal criteria. Today, the website processes around 90% of applications for domestic worker visas in the country.
This year, the Ministry goes one step further by launching a new service called “Maaroufah”. “Maaroufah” aims to facilitate the recruitment of maids from the Philippines and has cut the charges for prospective employers to hire a Filipino maid by 50%. Under this new system, the recruitment process will usually take a maximum 45 days and enable the beneficiary to obtain a visa for a Filipino domestic worker.
Following this announcement, the demand for FIlipino foreign domestic workers in Saudi Arabia has escalated tremendously. HelperChoice, the leading ethical platform for the recruitment of domestic workers, observed a peak of more than 10,000 new ads from Saudi Arabian employers in only 3 days! It is therefore a great opportunity for Filipino citizens looking for a domestic work job abroad.
To ensure good working conditions for all foreign domestic workers willing to work in Saudi Arabia, the platform is now implementing an ethical charter to be signed by all new employers looking for a housemaid on the platform. The aim of the charter is to protect the domestic helpers and ensure the best working conditions for them. For instance, it will request all prospective employers to grant internet access to their domestic workers, which ensures constant contact with the HelperChoice.com team if in need of assistance. The website will also implement direct salary payment through its platform in 2020 in order to guarantee a monthly wage meeting the legal requirement of US$400.