Govt to keep sending housemaids

The government will continue sending female workers for domestic jobs to Saudi Arabia, although it is difficult to get available female jobseekers amid the negative perception about working conditions for women there.

Nurul Islam, expatriates welfare and overseas employment minister, told this when Saudi Ambassador to Bangladesh Abdullah Al-Mutairi met him at his office in Probashi Kallyan Bhaban yesterday.

“The ambassador requested me to speed up the recruitment process of female workers. I informed him that it is hard to find female migrants for the housemaid jobs,” said the minister.

In February, the Saudi government inked two deals with the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training and the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (Baira) for hiring Bangladeshis for housemaid jobs.

According to the deals, Saudi will hire both male and female workers for 12 categories of jobs. But it is only hiring women from Bangladesh since April.

Baira leaders said fear of abuse and poor salaries held back women from seeking jobs in the kingdom.