Saudi Arabia has set a minimum wage of SR600-800 ($160-213) a month for foreign workers in a bid to improve their living standards.

The kingdom, which is home to 8 million expatriate workers, has been under pressure from the governments of the Philippines and Indonesia to improve pay and conditions for domestic staff.

The Shura Council, a consultative body for the Saudi government, has also rejected a proposal to introduce an income tax on expatriates. Income tax was scrapped in 1975. Several members of the Shura Council had supported the measure as a way to boost the employment of Saudi nationals, but the majority of the council opposed the idea.