By Mohammed Al-Abdullah

Okaz/Saudi Gazette

DAMMAM — The Ministry of Labor and Social Development will lift the ban on the recruitment of Ethiopian housemaids on Sunday following successful negotiations between Riyadh and Addis Ababa on the modalities which continued for two years.

Sources close to local recruitment offices said the ministry told the offices that the ban would be lifted after the hurdles impeding the return of the Ethiopian housemaids to the Saudi market were removed.

The sources said Ethiopian recruitment offices have resumed documenting the work contracts through Musanid e-gate after it was deleted in the past 24 months.

They expected the cost of recruiting an Ethiopian housemaid to range between SR9,000 and SR11,000 while it was only SR7,000 before the introduction of the Unified Work Contract (UWC).

The sources said the monthly salary of an Ethiopian housemaid will be SR1,000 from SR900 following the insistence of the Ethiopian side to increase the salary by SR100.

The Ethiopian recruitment offices said they were willing to supply the demand for housemaids in the Kingdom in a record short time. There are 150 recruitment offices in Ethiopia.

Sources expected the arrival of the Ethiopian housemaids in the Kingdom to be between 60-90 days and said they are the most escapee housemaids from their employers with a rate of 60-80 percent.