 JEDDAH — According to a report the rate of domestic servants fleeing their sponsors in Saudi Arabia is as high as 70 per cent.
| The other thirty percent must be chained to their beds. |
This, coupled with such countries as the Philippines and Indonesia, refusing to send maids to the Kingdom unless their salaries are increased, has given rise to demand for runaway maids.
Many maids run away from their sponsors as a result of alleged torture, nonpayment of salaries and difficult working conditions. Muhammed Al Dowaish, a legal consultant at the ministry, said that if the maids have any problem with sponsors, they should approach the police, the labour office or the governorate for a solution.
According to Saudi government statistics, over 30 per cent of runaway maids are Indonesians. A source at the Indonesian Embassy said that they receive about 10 complaints from maids every day. Most of them involve abuse and include severe beatings, suicide, kidnapping, rape, withholding of salary for months and years, sexual harassment and impregnation.
| In other words, just the usual in the Magic Kingdom™. |
Saudis say that the authorities need to find a solution to the problem.
It will only cause an increase in the demand for runaway maids because people are left with no other choice. They have urged the government to look into bringing maids from other countries to solve the shortage of maids.
The Philippines has refused to send maids to the kingdom unless they receive SR1,500 per month. The Indonesian government is demanding SR800 for their maids. About 50,000 Indonesian maids currently await permission to leave Indonesia for the Kingdom. Sri Lankan agencies have also demanded increases in the salaries of maids to SR600.
| How much do the respective governments get in kickbacks? |
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