The law will be finalized once members’ proposals are considered and incorporated.
“This is the first time such a law has been drafted in the Kingdom to regulate the relation between employers and their domestic aides,” Mohammed Al-Ghamdi, secretary-general of the Shoura, told the Saudi Press Agency.
The law that was presented to the Shoura by the panel for administrative and human resource affairs takes into consideration peculiarities of the work that housemaids do, and their relation with employers and their families.
The committee has made some changes in some of the law’s 23 articles after conducting detailed studies, Al-Ghamdi said, adding that the law would be presented to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah for approval after the Shoura’s endorsement.
While discussing the law, Shoura members called for reducing the fee for house servant visas. “Employers should have the right to apply for a replacement visa two weeks after a servant runs away,” they said.
Members also suggested withholding portions of salaries to prevent domestic aids from absconding on condition that the arrears would be paid at the end of service. They also accused some foreign missions of assisting their citizens to run away from employers.
Some members feared that the implementation of the law would lead to increased complaints in courts and police stations.
Bandar Hajjar, vice chairman of the Shoura Council, said an employer should not ask a domestic aid to do any job other than what is agreed in the contract. He wants the state to be a party to the contract to protect workers’ rights.
Members like Abdullah Bukhari opposed the law saying it would do more harm to citizens than good. “Article 8 of the law says a housemaid should not be asked to work between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. … If this law is followed then our courts and police stations would be flooded with complaints,” Al-Madinah Arabic daily quoted Bukhari as saying.
Abdul Rahman Al-Enad, another member, said the law had neglected Saudi house servants and spoke only about foreigners.
