DAMMAM – India has halted sending male and female workers to the Kingdom in protest against a recent directive of the Saudi Ministry of Labor, according to sources at recruitment firms in the Eastern Province. The ministry recently instructed that at least 25 percent of the total foreign manpower to be recruited from countries which are sending domestic help to the Kingdom to be housemaids effective from June 1. “Manpower offices sending Indian workers to the Kingdom have informed the recruitment firms on Wednesday through phone calls that New Delhi had stopped sending all categories of workers to the Kingdom,” the sources said, adding that the Indian government had stated that the ministry's condition was not acceptable to it. Earlier, in a letter to the manpower recruitment firms in India, the Saudi consulate general in Mumbai informed that at least 25 percent of the visa stamping shall be made for female domestic workers. “The consulate general informed that visas will not be stamped on any passports unless the conditions are fulfilled, effective from Wednesday,” the sources added. The Ministry of Labor recently gave the directive as part of the measures to address the delay in the recruitment of housemaids in order to meet the growing demand in the local market. The ministry noted that one of the reasons for the delay in hiring housemaids was that the recruitment firms were giving priority to send male workers either for domestic or commercial jobs.
