Saudi Arabia is going to scrap the sponsorship system for foreign workers — often criticised by rights groups for abusing the rights of the expatriates.

Instead, the Middle Eastern country will authorise recruitment companies to

hire foreigners, and will form a commission under its labour ministry to look after the foreign labour issues, said a report in the Arab News on Monday.

The new system would primarily be applicable to the drivers, maids, private nurses and other house servants and would ultimately lead to nullification of the present system.

The decades-old system has long been deplored for placing workers at the mercy of their employers.

Under this system, employers usually take

employees' passports when they enter the country and even deport them if any dispute arises, according to Saudi rights body National Society for Human Rights (NSHR).

The employers sometimes use possession of the employees' travel documents to

extort a hefty fee for renewal or transfer of residency permits and even for allowing them to go back home on vacation, added NSHR.

After completing a five-year study, the Saudi labour ministry has proposed formation of the commission to look into the foreign labour issues and put an end to the traditional sponsorship system, stated the report.

The study would soon be placed before the Saudi council of ministers for approval.

The study has proposed introduction of a mandatory insurance scheme to protect financial rights of expatriate workers and employees. The scheme would cover any damages caused by a foreign worker, payment of unpaid salaries and expenses of air tickets.

The recruitment companies will take necessary measures for hiring workers and will arrange return trips to their native countries, if they wanted so. The recruiters will also manage the

transfer of workers from one company to another.

Besides, an employer would not be held responsible for any wrong action of his employee outside the work.

The labour issue is significant for Bangladesh as about two million Bangladeshis have been working in the oilrich country.

Officials at the expatriates' welfare and overseas employment ministry said the new recruitment policy will help protect better the rights of foreign workers in the Arab land.

Contacted, Kazi Abul Kalam, deputy secretary at the ministry, said the move by the Saudi authorities apparently seems very positive. “Once we learn the details of the proposal, we can make comments.”

As part of disciplining its labour market, Saudi Arabia has been going through various reforms. Last year it had started recruiting more locals to reduce dependency on foreign recruits.