Some employers are expected to delay the exit of their hired domestic workers after the end of their employment contracts due to the difficulty of replacing them after the Kingdom on July 2 stopped issuing work visas for domestic helpers from the Philippines and Indonesia. With the month of Ramadan around the corner, the demand for housemaids has gone up. This is the time when domestic workers run away and abandon their jobs for better wages. Housemaids are already demanding wages based on hours instead of a monthly salary. Ali Al-Qurahy, a member of the Foreign Recruitment Committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), told the Saudi Gazette that he was not aware of a thriving black market of housemaids. But he admitted that he was having difficulty in bringing maids from new countries before Ramadan because of the unavailability of seats on flights to Saudi Arabia. “We are facing difficulties in bringing housemaids from new countries as Saudis want new housemaids months before Ramadan,” said Al-Qurahy, who is in Adis Ababa to recruit housemaids. Some 180,000 Filipinos work as maids and drivers in Saudi Arabia. About 1.5 million Indonesians work in the Kingdom, most of whom are women employed as housemaids. __
