A Saudi embassy official in Jakarta claims that Saudi families lose SR420 million a year because of Indonesian domestic workers who run away. Abdul Aziz Al-Raqabi, Head of the Consular Section at the Kingdom's Embassy in Jakarta, made the claim during an interview on the current cost increases being demanded by Indonesian recruitment agencies. He based his calculations on reports that 70,000 workers of various nationalities ran away from their sponsors in 2009. The Indonesians constitute 80 percent of these reports, with the majority women. “If we assume that the average cost of the recruitment of an Indonesian house helper is SR7,500, then when we multiply it by 56,000 runaway workers, we find that in one year Saudi families lose SR420 million,” said Al-Raqabi. Al-Raqabi said there are several countries, whose house helpers are highly trained. He said “Saudi families should recruit from these countries to break the monopoly held currently by Indonesian recruitment agents.” Al-Raqabi, however, supported a ban on workers from Indonesia if the cost increases continue. Al-Raqabi said a proposal is under discussion to conclude an agreement, covering all Indonesian labor unions, suggesting that whoever pays more than $200 to a broker, harsh action will be taken against them including a fine and closure of business. An informed source said that stopping the recruitment of Indonesian workers will have a negative impact on the size of their remittances, which are estimated at SR6 billion annually, half of which comes from the Kingdom.
