Saudi Arabia has banned employers from charging any fees to their domestic workers, including for recruitment and work permits, setting maximum penalties of a fine worth 20,000 riyals and a three-year ban on hiring, according to Saudi Gazette.
The Saudi outlet reported on Monday that employers were banned from “charging any fees from their domestic workers”, including those “related to recruitment, change of professions, transfer of services, residency permit (iqama) and work permits”.
Saudi Gazette said the provisions were included in the “Guide to the Rights and Obligations of Domestic Workers”, issued by the Saudi human resources ministry. It added that the new regulations “include a package of rights that guarantee the domestic worker a decent life and a stable work environment”.
According to the guide, professions permitted by law in the domestic worker sector include “domestic worker, private driver, and specialised professions such as home nurse, cook, tailor, butler, supervisor, and house manager, as well as home guard, personal assistant, farmer, physical therapist, and home coffee maker”.
The guidelines also allow the addition of any other profession that may fall under the duties of domestic workers, the report added.
According to the Saudi human resources ministry, a domestic worker means any person “who performs direct or indirect domestic work for the domestic employer or any member of their household under the supervision and direction of the domestic employer or their representative”.
“It is also stipulated that domestic workers shall be disbursed with their wages according to the unified contract signed with the employer,” Saudi Gazette said, adding that the new guidelines stress workers’ right to a weekly rest day agreed upon in the contract.
The provisions also include “daily rest hours of no less than eight continuous hours, in addition to a full month’s leave after completing two years of continuous work if the worker wishes to renew the work contract”.
Domestic workers also have the right to obtain a “travel ticket to his/her country every two years at the employer’s expense, an end-of-service gratuity equivalent to one month’s salary upon completing four consecutive years, and sick leave of up to 30 days per year when needed, based on an approved medical report”.
They also have the right to keep all their identification documents, such as their passport and iqama, with the employer not allowed to confiscate them.
Under the guidelines, as per Saudi Gazette, the employer is obligated to enable the worker to communicate with his family in a normal manner, issue and renew residency and legal licenses at his own expense, and pay the monthly wage regularly as per the contract.
Meanwhile, the regulations also mandate domestic workers to ensure proper conduct, including taking care of the family’s property, maintaining household secrets, respecting Islam and keeping societal values and morals in mind.
In 2008, the Human Rights Watch called on Saudi Arabia to improve labour law protections and end its “sponsorship” system to prevent domestic workers from being treated like slaves.
Under the “sponsorship” system, also known as the “Kafala” system, foreigners in Saudi Arabia obtain a visa through their employer, who usually retains their passports.
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