Saudis are pinning their hopes on the Council of Economy and Development under the chairmanship of Prince Muhammad Bin Salman who is known for his decisive action and decisions. Reports show that Saudis have lost SR2 billion due to 97,000 runaway drivers and housemaids. These domestic workers usually leave their sponsors with the help of gangs who help them find illegal jobs. The other important issue which is very sad is the high recruitment prices imposed by recruitment offices with what amounts to the complete absence of any type of monitoring by the authorities. These are not new problems; they started small and got bigger. Today, the majority of Saudis complain about the harm caused by these two issues. It has become necessary to resolve them. Why do the recruitment fees of expatriate workers in other Gulf countries not exceed SR5,000 while in the Kingdom that sum can reach SR30,000 even though similar conditions exist in all the countries involved? Why do we have a black market for domestic servants where one can get a driver or a housemaid if he pays SR3,000? Why do the recruitment prices skyrocket every time the Ministry of Labor signs a recruitment agreement with a new country? For example, the recruitment fees from Sri Lanka jumped from SR12,000 to SR25,000 and for Bangladesh they jumped from SR2,500 to SR11,000. Why does the average salary of a domestic worker not exceed SR800 a month in other Gulf countries while in the Kingdom it is SR1,500 and more? Why have the sponsorship transfer fees jumped to SR40,000? There are so many questions that remain unanswered. Saudis are stuck between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand, the recruitment office continues to exploit Saudis; while on the other, there is no stringent monitoring from the authorities. There are also no strict regulations in this regard. The Ministry of Labor and recruitment committees in the Kingdom's various chambers of commerce only care about their own interests and not the interests of members of the general public. We were glad when we heard that the chairmen of these committees had resigned. Although this is a good start, it is not enough. We need drastic action from the council and stricter policies to protect Saudis from being exploited by recruitment offices.
