Saudi to again hire Indian maids - on reduced salaries

Saudi Arabia will resume the hiring of Indian female domestic workers but on less salaries than before, Xinhua reported Wednesday citing the Al Hayat newspaper.

This is part of an agreement recently signed by the two countries' labour ministries, according to Ahmed Al Faheed, under secretary (International Affairs) at the Saudi labour ministry.

He said that the hiring of Indian maids will be resumed soon after it was halted due to conditions imposed by the Indian government.

A few years ago, the Indian government set certain conditions on the hiring of Indian maids, such as fixed deposits in the Indian embassies and high salaries for the maids. Many Gulf families, however, complained it was too expensive for hiring such unskilled maids, as they have to be trained for months before they can handle all the work.

Al Faheed revealed that the Saudi ministry will sign similar agreements with three other countries that supply domestic workers within the year.