Kenya, Saudi Arabia agree on three-month pilot to review recruitment costs for domestic workers

NAIROBI, Kenya Nov 11 – Kenya and Saudi Arabia have agreed to undertake a three-month pilot programme to review recruitment fees for Kenyan domestic workers seeking employment in the Kingdom.

Labour Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua said the two countries signed a letter of intent providing for voluntary recruitment fees based on market cost competitiveness.

The arrangement is intended to enable Kenya to remain competitive with neighbouring and other labour-sending countries while expanding employment opportunities for its citizens.

Mutua announced the agreement following a meeting with Saudi Arabia’s Vice Minister for Labour, Dr Abdullah bin Nasser Abuthnain, in Riyadh.

He said the discussions also resulted in the signing of a technical annex to the bilateral agreement on the recruitment of domestic workers, originally signed on July 5, 2026.

The annex provides for streamlined recruitment procedures, reduced recruitment costs and the adoption of integrated technological processes.

It also seeks to strengthen regulation of contractual relationships between employers and domestic workers while improving awareness of their respective rights and obligations.

According to Mutua, the framework is expected to improve recruitment services, enhance efficiency and ensure that the employment process complies with approved regulations.

The two countries also discussed improving the welfare, remuneration and working conditions of Kenyans employed in Saudi Arabia.

The three-month pilot forms part of broader efforts to regulate overseas recruitment and make the Saudi labour market more accessible to Kenyan workers.