Statistics of the Ministry of Labor show that 700,000 employees are recruited annually to work in the Kingdom and out of them 300,000 are house helpers. The ministry's statistics also show that 50 percent of recruited workers run away from their sponsors. “More housemaids have attempted to escape from their sponsors since the passing of strict regulations regarding the issuing of visas,” said Noura Al-Mudaimigh, a businesswoman. “Because it is difficult to get a new visa and it takes a long time, some people try to convince housemaids to run away from their employers by offering them higher salaries,” she added. “There are people who are making a business out of encouraging housemaids to run away. The housemaids know that they have a good chance of getting another job, and there is really nothing that can prevent them from doing that,” said Al-Mudaimigh . “What makes the situation worse is the expensive recruitment fees which used to be SR500 and now has been increased to more than SR1,500. Also, the fee for releasing a housemaid to work for someone else has been increased from SR6,000 to more than SR14,000,” she said. These are only some of the reasons for the creation of a thriving black market trading in the services of illegal housemaids which is supported by irresponsible Saudis according to Al-Mudaimigh. “This explains why trading in housemaids is such a successful business. It is supported by interior and external networks and it leads to financial losses of SR 1.5 billion a year,” she added. Researchers explain that housemaids are running away in increasing numbers because they are looking for better income, seeking a more comfortable place to work, avoiding abuse, and looking for an easier job with less working hours. But Essam Mustafa, member of the Economic Society, thinks that there are more reasons why workers and housemaids run away from their sponsors, such as: u The absence of a clearly defined punishment and the lack of an awareness campaign which should be conducted at the embassies in the workers' countries. u The easiness of fabricating employees' identification documents. u The failure of the Ministry of Labor and the Passports Department to take responsibility for runaway workers. u The tempting bonuses offered to housemaids to run away and work illegally. u The sympathy housemaids find from their embassies in disregard of the housemaids' job responsibilities. u The failure of employers to cooperate with the instructions of the Passport Department by hiring illegal workers, and u The fact that workers are aware that current regulations are to their benefit and that the sponsor is the one who will be held liable. The public interest Ali Ibraheem Al-Dawood from the Administration Institute thinks that as regards the phenomenon of runaway workers, the Saudi sponsor is in the weakest position and is the victim. “The sponsor has to bear all the financial and moral obligations. He has to undergo lengthy and costly procedures in order to get a visa for a worker. Some citizens resort to hiring illegal workers to solve this problem. By doing this, the citizen is contributing to the problem and is encouraging other workers to escape from their sponsors,” said Al-Dawood. “As for the worker, he is only seeking to increase his income, and he has found the perfect environment for achieving that. Moreover, the worker knows that the worst thing that will happen to him by running away from his sponsor is that he will be sent back home,” he added. Al-Dawood thinks that the embassies of these workers are partly responsibile by easing the procedures for their people to come to Saudi Arabia in disregard of the sponsors' interests. Besides that, once an illegal worker has been sent home, in some countries, he can easily change his ID and passport and return. Major Muhammad Al-Hussein, official spokesman of the Passports Department, said, “Workers running away from their sponsors is not a widespread phenomenon in the Kingdom. In fact, it tends to be concentrated in the Western Region because that region is the gateway to the Two Holy Mosques besides being a business center with ample job opportunities.” He said most runaway workers and illegal residents are found near the Bicycle Roundabout and under the so-called “Workers Bridge” at Kilo 8 on Makkah Road in Jeddah, pointing out that these two areas serve as a gathering point for hundreds of these workers who are looking for temporary jobs to earn a living. Al-Hussein said that Passport Department patrols always target these two places when they are searching for overstayers and runaway workers, stressing that most workers who run away from their sponsors are looking for more lucrative jobs, especially the housemaids. He added that after the enforcement of the fingerprinting system the rate of runaway workers has fallen by 40 percent. Accountant to cleaner Abdul Gader Saddik, a 30-year-old Pakistani, being detained at Jeddah's Passports Detention Center said, “I came to the Kingdom as an accountant, but I did not continue long on the job as my employer suddenly turned me into a cleaner. When I protested, he gave me two choices: either continue on the job or look for another employer. By profession, I am an accountant and cannot take any other job, and I cannot afford the expense of transferring sponsorship. Thus I ran away from my sponsor. I lost my Iqama during my constant movement, and surrendered to the Passport Department to deport me to my country.” Maid left stranded Muhammed Omar, an Indonesian, said, “When I landed at King Abdul Aziz Airport my employer refused to pick me up. I was kept at the airport for two days. When it became clear that my sponsor had turned off his mobile phone, the Passports Office at the airport handed me over to the Deportation Department where I was fingerprinted even though I entered the country legally with a work visa.” Unified contract In order to curtail the phenomenon of runaway workers, Essam Kahlifa suggested the adoption of the unified contract. He said, “Negotiations are under way between the labor offices in the Kingdom and the labor authorities in other countries to introduce a contract known as the unified contract. This contract precisely defines the rights of the employer and employee which should help to curtail the phenomenon of runaway workers.” Kahlifa also proposed a national campaign to enlighten the public about the negative socioeconomic aspects of the runaway worker phenomenon. He also called for legislating tough rules punishing runaway workers and depriving them of their privileges and rights as stated in their contracts. Qusai Falali, Director of the Labor Office in Jeddah, offered an alternative suggestion for putting an end to the problem of runaway workers. He said that the introduction of an insurance system would completely eliminate the phenomenon. “In fact, such a system would protect employers as they will be compensated financially by the insurance company when a worker runs away. The current fingerprinting system being carried out by the Passports Department will also help in curtailing the phenomenon because the worker will be prevented from reentering the country,” Falali said. Two-hand fingerprinting system A source at the Passports Department stressed that the current two-hand fingerprinting system has proved to be effective. Ministry of Interior regulations prevent the re-entry to the Kingdom of any runaway worker. The fingerprinting system effectively spots runaway workers and no visas are issued to them.
