Sri Lankan recruitment offices have turned their back on agreement with their Saudi counterparts by raising housemaid recruitment fees by about 92 percent from US$1,560 to US$3,000, according to chairman of the recruitment committee of the Eastern Province Chamber of Commerce and Industry Hussain Al-Mutairi.

Sri Lankan recruitment offices have stopped travel permits for their manpower and nullified all documents they received from the Kingdom in order to enforce their decision and put pressure on Saudi recruiters, said Mutairi.

He said Sri Lankan recruitment offices went against signed agreements and increased the monthly salary of housemaids from SR1,100 to SR1,300 starting February.

“The Sri Lankan offices wanted to force their Saudi counterparts to sign new contracts which are contrary to the rates set by the Ministry of Labor and Social Development,” Mutairi said.

Market sources said a number of Saudi recruiters were likely to accept the new rates so as to avoid SR100 in fines for every day of delay in the arrival of housemaids.

They said that some 300 Sri Lankan recruitment offices made an agreement among themselves to reject any housemaid recruitment request from Saudi Arabia for a fee which is less than US$3,000 (saudigazette)