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Thursday 18 December 2008 (20 Dhul Hijjah 1429) NCR seeks to suspend visas for Indonesia Arab News RIYADH: Saudi Arabia's National Committee for Recruitment (NCR) has called on the government to stop issuing visas to Indonesian workers after the Indonesian Labor Federation called on recruitment agencies in that country to ignore labor regulations implemented recently in the Kingdom. "The government should suspend recruitment of Indonesian workers until differences between the two sides over the new regulations are settled," said Saad Al-Baddah, chairman of the NCR, an affiliate of the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry. The new regulations - entitled "The Unified Labor Contract" - seek to unify rules for bringing domestic workers to the Kingdom and protect the rights of Saudi employers and expatriate workers. The regulations were issued with the approval of the Ministry of Interior. The contract stipulates that labor recruitment agencies sign with the NCR contracts that define the rights of both employers and employees, such as salaries, working hours and vacations. While most labor-supplying countries agreed to implement the new regulations early this year, the NCR had been negotiating the issue with the Indonesian authorities, Baddah said. "The conduct of the Indonesian Labor Federation will, obviously, trigger a new crisis in recruiting workers from that country. The Indonesian authorities are supposed to implement the contract beginning 2009," he added. "It seems that the silence of the Saudi authorities on unilateral decisions taken by the Indonesians on issues, such as raising workers' salaries and recruitment fees, over the past couple of years has encouraged Indonesia to reject the Unified Labor Contract with scant regard for Saudi interests," Baddah said. "All countries that supply domestic labor to Saudi Arabia have approved the new contract and are abiding by it. On the other hand, the Indonesians have not approved it. Labor recruitment agencies in Indonesia want to dictate their terms and do not care for our interests. This is not right," he added. Baddah called on the authorities to find out why Indonesia is refusing to sign the contract. He also called on recruitment agencies in the Kingdom not to accept visas for Indonesian workers from next month unless there is a positive response from the Indonesian authorities