Age bar for Indian maids in Saudi Arabia set between 25 and 50 years

The age of Indian domestic workers looking for employment in Saudi Arabia has been set between 25 and 50 years under a new employment agreement finalised by the two countries, media reported.

“Our agreement with India sets the age of the domestic workers coming to the Kingdom [Saudi Arabia] at between 25 and 50 years. If an Indian maid aged 25 agrees to come to Saudi Arabia, the Indian government will not prevent her,” media reported citing Ahmad Al Faheed, Saudi labour ministry undersecretary for international affairs as saying on Sunday.
Al Faheed said that the maids would be subjected to a crash course in their respective states in India before being sent to Saudi Arabia.Such training will be provided by labour agencies in India, he said.

Moreover, Saudi labour agencies are planning to set up offices in India to supervise procedures for the recruitment of maids in Saudi Arabia, including visa, travel, training and other issues, the report said.
Earlier this month, the Saudi-Indian joint committee on labour issues finalised the recruitment contract of domestic workers that consists of several provisions to ensure the authenticity and implementation of the standard employment contract, the recruitment cost, action against recruitment agencies violating laws and a mechanism to prevent cheating by middlemen.

The new recruitment contract is aimed at easing a shortage of domestic workers in the world’s largest oil-exporting country.

The standard employment contract provides minimum wages, working hours, paid holidays and a dispute settlement mechanism.

However, the joint agreement also sets forth specific conditions for incoming domestic workers.

“They should be of good conduct, should not have legal or criminal cases. They should pass a medical check-up, and abide by the laws and traditions during the period of work in the kingdom,” the report said.