JEDDAH — Private sector recruitment offices are not offering uniform charges for recruiting expatriates of any given nationality, Al-Madina reported. According to the Musaned portal, a website provided by the Ministry of Labor for recruitment offices, the charges for recruiting a housemaid can vary from SR13,000 to SR23,000. There are 31 recruitment offices on the Musaned portal in Jeddah. Two of the offices stated they recruit Filipino maids for SR13,000 and the maid would arrive in six months. Seven offices offered the same services for SR14,000, nine were charging SR15,000, six were asking for SR16,000, three wanted SR17,000 and two demanded SR18,000. Another two offices stated they recruit Filipino maids for SR20,000 based on a 10-month timescale. In Riyadh, there are 119 recruitment offices on Musaned. Two of the offices stated they recruit Filipino maids for SR13,000 and the maid would arrive in six months. Most offices that offered the same service charged SR15,000 to SR19,000. One office wanted a fee of SR19,500 while three others were demanding SR20,000. In Madinah, there are 10 recruitment offices on Musaned portal. Two of the offices stated they would recruit Filipino maids for SR15,000 and the maid would arrive in six months. Two others offered the same service for SR15,000, five charged SR16,000, while one wanted SR17,000. Another two offices stated they recruit Filipino maids for SR18,000 based on a 12-month timescale. In Tabuk, there are only two recruitment offices on Musaned. One office stated they recruit Filipino maids for SR20,000 while the other offered the same service for SR23,000. Citizen Majed Al-Sharif said Musaned was supposed to facilitate the recruitment process for the recruitment offices and their clients. However, there is no regulation over the prices and the offices are free to set high fees, said Al-Sharif. Fellow Saudi Abdulrahman Al-Ghamdi said: “The people are grateful for the Musaned portal initiative but the Ministry of Labor should set regulations regarding the prices demanded by private recruitment offices.”
