Indonesia set to allow domestic helpers in Saudi Arabia after 10-year ban
Jakarta is expected to send 600,000 domestic helpers and skilled labourers to Saudi Arabia, but rights groups are concerned about the move
A memorandum of understanding to facilitate the legal placement of migrant workers was scheduled to be signed by ministers from Indonesia and Saudi Arabia later this month in Jeddah, said Migrant Workers Protection Minister Abdul Kadir Karding in Jakarta.
“After ensuring that Saudi Arabia’s labour protection system has improved sufficiently, we will reopen the programme,” Karding told reporters last week, noting that the decision to lift the ban followed a meeting between him and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto.
The Indonesian government would likely send around 600,000 workers to Saudi Arabia as early as June, Karding said. This would include 400,000 domestic helpers and 200,000 skilled labourers, he added, without specifying what sectors would hire the latter group.
The government was projecting potential foreign exchange earnings of 31 trillion rupiah [US$1.89 billion] a year if 600,000 workers were sent to Saudi Arabia, the minister said.
He added that there was a promise of more improved and advanced protections in place for workers in Saudi Arabia.