24/06/2022
H.E. Minister of Labor and Social Development Dr. Ali bin Nasser Al-Ghafis signed a bilateral agreement on deistic labor recruitment with Republic of Kenya’s Minister of East African Community, Labour and Social Protection Mrs. Phyllis Kandie in Jeddah. The ministry said the signing agreement is in a bid to increase the labor-exporting countries and open new avenues for recruiting well-trained and skilled domestic workers in order to appease the growing demands of them in Saudi Arabia. It offers a legal framework that enhances cooperation among the labor parties and protect the rights of employers and domestic workers, as well as governing the contractual relationships between them. The agreement facilitates cooperation between the two parties including employment of Kenyan domestic workers, rights of employers and workers and recruitment procedures, in addition to controlling recruitment expenses in both countries. Both parties agreed recruiting Kenyan workers should be done through offices, companies, manpower agencies or job placement centers that operate under valid licenses, as well as having unified work contracts among the stakeholders. According to the agreement, the Kenyan government must take necessary measures before sending Kenyan workers who must be qualified and medically fit to Saudi Arabia. The candidates must not have any criminal record and receive training at household institutes. Moreover, the domestic workers should observe Saudi regulations and traditions, besides their awareness of the employment contract conditions. Also, they should sign work contracts before leaving Kenya as the recruitment agencies must ensure that their workers complete work duration. At the ceremony, the Kenyan ministry pledged to expedite departure of their workers within one month from receiving their visas and not to send back the same workers that were used to work in Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, the Kingdom expressed their commitment towards the binding agreement as well as ensured the worker recruitment should be processed as per the Saudi regulations and rules. The MLSD assured the Kenyan ministry by protecting the rights of Kenyan workers in the Kingdom as per the regulations, in addition to offering around the clock help for the domestic workers and permitting them to transfer their salaries to their respective country according to the Saudi remittance regulations.
