DAMMAM: The director general of the Labor Office in the Eastern Province has said that all Saudi women, not just widows or divorcees, have the right to recruit housemaids under their personal sponsorship. “It is not true that Saudi women are barred from personally employing housemaids should a husband be unable to do so because he doesn't have a job,” said Ahmad Al-Obaid. “They have to sign officially that they will pay the wages of the housemaid and produce a statement of earnings from their employers. They must be able to show that they are able to pay the monthly wage of the housemaid on time.” Al-Obaid was speaking in the light of an increase in the number of Saudi women seeking to employ housemaids in recent times, who have been told that the law does not permit them to do so unless they are widows or divorcees.
