SAUDI ARABIA- Saudi authorities have approved a unified contract for Indian domestic workers in Saudi Arabia, after the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) declined its obligations to enforce a unified contract for migrant domestic workers in the Gulf countries. This contract comes as part of commitments signed by government of Saudi Arabia and government of India earlier this year.
The contract expressly define some rights and responsibilities of both employers and employees; one positive stipulation is a renewed commitment to enforcing “bank guarantee” which requires employers to deposit 2500 USD with Indian embassy as guarantee for payment. Guarantee applies only to female domestic workers and returned to the employer after his contractual obligations are met towards the female worker.
This positive step remains incomplete; for the following reasons: no maximum daily working hours are set, agreement also does not guarantee workers’ freedom of mobility during off-time nor private access to communication, which could lead to isolation of workers and to exploitation in the work environment.
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