SL and Saudi to restructure recruitment process

Thursday, 11 August 2011 00:38 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Sri Lankan and Saudi Arabia decided on Tuesday to sign a memorandum of understanding to restructure the recruitment process between the two countries.

According to the MoU the two countries are interested in following a government-to-government scheme that would ensure fair recruitment procedures from Sri Lanka without the direct interference of middlemen, Arab media reported.

The decision was taken during a meeting between visiting Foreign Employment Promotion and Welfare Minister Dilan Perera and Saudi Deputy Labour Minister for Planning and Development Mufarrij bin Saad Al-Hagbani at the headquarters of the Labour Ministry in Riyadh.

Under the proposed scheme, the whole recruitment process will be streamlined under the direct supervision of the two governments.

During the discussions, a social security scheme was proposed to protect both the employer and the employee. Such a scheme will offer compensation for a distressed worker who suffers at the hands of an unscrupulous employer, while the employer’s investment will also be suitably compensated if a worker runs away from the workplace. It was revealed during discussions that the Saudi Labour Ministry is currently working out a scheme whereby distressed housemaids could contact the relevant authorities and have their cases resolved quickly.