JEDDAH — There are contradicting views about the recent action by some local recruitment offices, which signed contracts with insurance companies to guarantee the rights of the employee and the sponsor at the same time. Some people refused this idea and objected to the conditions set by the recruitment office while others supported and praised it. Several local recruitment offices entered into negotiations with four Saudi licensed insurance companies to apply an insurance policy for housemaids that costs SR1,000 for a two-year coverage. Insurance companies will be the sole guarantor of the sponsor's rights. They will compensate him if the housemaid runs away, gets sick, refuses to work, or decides to leave before the end of the contract. The countries whose workers are covered by insurance are the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Indonesia. The agreement is optional for citizens. Yahya Al-Maqbool, chairman of the recruitment committee at Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the agreement will bring a lot of benefits to both parties. One of them will solve the problem of delayed salaries. Some employers delay paying their housemaids salaries for a few months as an insurance against them fleeing. According to the new agreement, an employer whose housemaid runs away or refuses to work until the end of her employment contract's term will be compensated. “The insurance policy is an option for the employer who wants to guarantee that his housemaid will not run away.” By doing so, the rights of Saudi employers will be protected in all cases. Muhammad Al-Obaikan, 50, supported such a step. He said he could not count the times he had recruited housemaids only for them to run away from his house after spending a few months on the job. “Such insurance won't compel us to withhold the salaries of housemaids. I didn't personally like to do this but in many cases I had to delay paying salaries for fear the housemaid would run away.” Jamilah Abo Ras lauded the new procedures but objected to the three-month trial period, saying housemaids use different methods to circumvent laws and run away. Umm Muhammad said the new procedure is pointless and does not bring any benefits to the Saudi employer. “A housemaid might run away anytime and the employer might not benefit from insurance or compensation money. I need a housemaid at the end of the day; I don't want no compensation or money.” In her opinion, insurance is good for vehicles and projects, not for humans. Waleed Al-Sebaiee, an economic expert, believes that this step is healthy for citizens at the current time and will protect them against incurring the costs of recruitment if the housemaid runs away. However, he criticized the amount of insurance saying the fair amount should be between SR350 and SR650. He called upon the Ministry of Labor to approve the insurance program for housemaids as soon as possible.
