Saudi Arabia’s Musaned recruitment platform has told employers that hiring of Ethiopian domestic workers is suspended following a decision by Ethiopia’s Ministry of Labour, Ajel reported.
Musaned confirmed the suspension in reply to a public query asking whether hiring from Ethiopia had stopped and what would happen to contracts already signed. It referred questions to the Ethiopian labour ministry and gave a Saudi service number for details.
Domestic work in Saudi Arabia is one of the main Gulf jobs for Ethiopian women. ILO figures put Ethiopia among East Africa’s largest labour-sending countries, with hundreds of thousands of overseas placements in recent years, and remittances from those jobs are an important source of foreign exchange.
Ethiopian rules require licensed recruiters, approved job orders, registered contracts, medical checks and pre-departure training. Capital Ethiopia and ILO briefs have argued that those rules are not enough without stronger consular support and inspections in destination countries. Musaned has warned Saudi employers to pay only through official channels and to use licensed offices.
Sources:
Ajel English (Musaned suspension) Capital Ethiopia ILO Ethiopia overseas employment policy brief