DAMMAM: Saudi and Kenyan recruitment offices have agreed to open three institutes for training Kenyan female domestic helpers before they arrive in the Kingdom, an arrangement similar to the approved training institutes in Indonesia and other countries. The institutes, which will cost about SR5.6 million and have a total capacity of between 900 and 1,500, should be operational in two months, said Hussein Al-Mutairi, a member of the Recruitment Committee in the Eastern Province Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The institutes will provide a one-week training course before the workers travel to the Kingdom, he added. Charges for Kenyan domestic workers are estimated at SR9,000 – SR7,000 in costs and SR2,000 in visa fees; and monthly salaries are set at SR800, Al-Mutairi said. Recruitment offices dealing with the Kenyan market pledge that the workers will arrive within two to three months, he said. Demand for Kenyan and Ethiopian domestic workers started rising as obstacles prevented the arrival of Indonesian workers, Al-Mutairi said. The National Committee for Recruitment could not reach an agreement with the Indonesian delegation during last week's negotiations conducted with the Council of Saudi Chambers, Al-Mutairi said. The main obstacle is the unified agreement that the Indonesian authorities are demanding, which the National Committee for Recruitment is refusing, but there is preliminary agreement for charges to be determined based on supply and demand, he said. Contracting processes to recruit Ethiopian workers are proceeding smoothly, in part because the Ethiopian government has welcomed plans for its citizens to work in Saudi Arabia, Al-Mutairi said. The process should take about three months, he added. The cost to recruit an Ethiopian worker is SR8,500 – SR 6,500 in costs and SR2,000 in visa fees; the monthly salary is SR800.
