Indonesia union refuses to work with Saudi recruitment offices

Published:  9 Jan at 9 AM
Want to get involved? Become a Featured Expat and take our interview.
Become a Local Expert and contribute articles.
Get in touch today!
Tagged: Australia
An Indonesian expatriates union has said it will not work with Saudi Arabian recruitments offices, opting to work only with larger companies, in order to ensure expats from the Southeast Asian nation receive the rights they consider they are entitled to.

The move has yet to be confirmed by the Indonesian government so, at present, it remains unofficial, but a source revealed that an expatriate union from the island nation arrived in the Kingdom and had agreed deals with two large recruitments firms.

However, Saudi Arabia’s National Recruitment Committee said that signing such contracts was illegal as Indonesian officials had to go via the Ministry of Labour so as to comply with regulations on expatriates and sponsors’ rights.

The committee’s chief Saad Al-Badah said he was not in favour of the Indonesian union’s apparent decision to snub Saudi recruitment offices, pointing out that both the recruitment firms and offices were fully regulated by the Ministry of Labour.

In relation to claims by Indonesia that expat workers’ rights were not being met, Al-Badah said he would not comment. He added that to resolve the issue, a Ministry of Labour representative would have to speak with a counterpart from the Indonesian government.

Meanwhile, the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce Recruitment Committee chief, Yahya Maqbul, insisted that recruitment companies and offices and individual and family sponsors all followed the same set of regulations. He noted that it was the same process that was followed all over the world, regardless of the nationality of gender of the applicant.

He went on to say that Indonesian expat unions had attempted to pressurise Saudi Arabia into raising salaries in the past and been successful, but they continued to demand more, leading to the Ministry of Labour ruling that salary caps were to be set by recruitment offices in the respective countries.
Like this news?

Comments » No published comments just yet for this article...

Feel free to have your say on this item. Go on... be the first!

Tell us Your Thoughts On This Piece:

Your Name *
Email * (not published, needs verification one time only)
Website
Type:
  • Facebook
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • RSS feed
  • Facebook

Latest Headlines

News Links

News Archive