The recruitment of Filipino domestic workers to Saudi Arabia will resume early next month, according to labor authorities.

According to Okaz newspaper, the Saudi Ministry of Human Resources' Musaned domestic labour program will resume on November 7.

Late last year, Saudi Arabia suspended the recruitment of Filipino domestic workers.

It was reported at the time that the suspension was due to new rules issued by the Philippine Ministry of Labour governing the contractual relationship between Filipino household workers and their foreign employers.

Recently, Saudi labour authorities have sought to regulate the domestic labor market. For this reason, Musaned launched a domestic labour programme to educate customers about their rights and responsibilities, as well as related services such as visa issuance, recruitment requests, and employer-employee contracts.

If recruitment regulations are met, beneficiaries can now apply for a visa to hire domestic workers from the Philippines via their account in the program.

Visa fees will not be refunded if the visa is used. If a worker wishes to obtain an alternative visa, he or she must be deported within 90 days after arrival and his or her status in the "Absher" system must be "final exit" without exceeding the maximum number of visas allowed.

In August, Saudi and Philippine officials discussed the possibility of resuming domestic worker employment in the kingdom, which is a popular destination for migrant workers.