Saudis to stop hiring costly Bangladeshi workers

Recruitment offices claim that a supply crunch has raised costs.

Saudi recruitment offices have decided to stop hiring Bangladeshi workers because they claim that a supply crunch has raised costs, the media reported on Tuesday.

Ibrahim Al-Megheimish, a recruitment expert, said that there were too few Bangladeshi workers seeking employment, which now means costs have risen from $1,000 to $1,800 just to bring them to Saudi Arabia, Arab News reported.

A common complaint

Mr. Al-Megheimish said the cost outlined by the Saudi Labour Ministry was not enough to cover all the expenses incurred in bringing workers to the country. This has also been the complaint of other recruitment office owners, who said costs have risen 80 percent. He said the Ministry’s claim that 5,00,000 Bangladeshi domestic workers would seek employment in the country has not materialised. “Currently only four to six workers a week are supplied for work in Saudi Arabia,” he said.

He said the training centres in Bangladesh were limited. In addition, the training period is four weeks, which has resulted in delays and penalties for workers, he said.