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Revised age limit for female labour to West Asia
View(s):By Leon Berenger
The revised age limit for female domestic workers to Saudi Arabia and other West Asian countries will come into effect from May 1, a senior State official and the industry said yesterday. They said the development comes after the January 9 public beheading of Sri Lanka housemaid Rizana Naffiq in the Saudi capital Riyadh, for the murder of her employer’s toddler.
Starting May 1, female domestics seeking employment placements in Saudi Arabia should be 25 years and above, and 23 and above to other West Asian countries, Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLFEB) General Manager Harischandra Battegoda told the Sunday Times. Earlier, the lower limit to both Saudi Arabia and other countries in the region was 21.
“For the moment, the 25-year age limit for female domestics has only been confined to Saudi Arabia, but could be extended to other countries as well, depending on future developments,” Mr. Battegoda said. He also said that individual recruitment between an Arab employer and a local domestic will not be allowed in future. “All future recruitment will have to be through a licensed manpower agency to ensure accountability, once the worker leaves the country. This is done purely to safeguard the interests of the worker,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Saudi Arabia National Recruitment Council of the Chamber of Commerce SANARCOM has also decided to prevent individual recruitment of domestics from Sri Lanka, Faizer Maickeen of the Association for Licensed Foreign Employment Agencies (ALFEA) said.He said that SANARCOM and ALFEA will, in future, coordinate in the recruitment efforts, in order to maintain accountability regarding the welfare of the individual worker.
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