Maids win cases against their Saudi sponsors
One of the employers claimed he did not have the money, and was detained till he could pay
The domestic workers security center of Riyadh Police has told two citizens to pay their domestic workers 111,800 Saudi riyals in outstanding wages.
The two Indonesian employees had complained to their embassy that they had not received their salaries for years.
The embassy referred the two workers to the domestic workers security center, which set up a committee to investigate the matter.
The committee verified the workers’ claims and detained the two citizens.
One of the employees said she worked for two years with a sponsor, who paid her on time, before he transferred her sponsorship to one of his relatives, for whom she worked for six years and accumulated SR70,200 in unpaid wages.
The other worker said she worked six and a half years with her sponsor and accumulated SR41,600 in unpaid wages.
She led police to her sponsor’s residence. The sponsor admitted to not paying up and claimed that he did not have the money. He was detained until he can pay her.
The two workers expressed happiness that they will finally get their dues and said they are thankful to the authorities for their intervention.
Last year the Kingdom announced new rules to protect the rights of domestic workers.
The new rules require employers to pay workers the agreed monthly salary without delay, and give them a day off each week.
Employers are also required to provide domestic workers with suitable accommodations, as well as granting them time to rest for at least nine hours each day.
Under the new guidelines, workers are entitled to paid sick leave and a one-month paid vacation after putting in two years of work as well as end of service compensation equal to one month salary after four years.
But employees must also respect Islam and its teachings… and obey the orders of the employers and their family members concerning getting the agreed work done.
A domestic worker does not have the right to reject a work, or leave a job, without a valid reason.
This article was first published in the Saudi Gazette.
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