Saudi Arabia has rejected a draft agreement with the government of Indonesia on the employment of domestic workers.

Some members of the kingdom’s advisory body, the Shoura Council, said the agreement did not go far enough to protect the rights of the employer, the state news agency said.

Another council member said the provisions in the agreement reflected negatively on the image of working in the kingdom.

There are about 9 million expatriate workers in Saudi Arabia, including thousands of domestic workers such as maids and drivers.

Indonesia and Saudi Arabia have had a tense relationship in regards to the hiring of Indonesian workers.

The former Indonesian government suspended migration of its citizens to the Arab state in August, 2011, on the grounds they were being exploited.

It was lifted in early 2013 after then-president Susilio Bambang Yuduyono reportedly travelled to Saudi Arabia to negotiate higher wages and a guarantee they would be given weekly time off, as well as a promise that employers would respect human rights.

Indonesia also was angered in June 2011 when Riyadh failed to inform it that 54-year old Indonesian citizen Ruyati binti Saputi had been beheaded by Saudi authorities after she was convicted of beating her employer’s wife to death with a meat cleaver.

Last month, Indonesia paid $1.87m in blood money to prevent an Indonesian maid from being beheaded.

In July, 2013, Saudi Arabia passed new legislation covering the hiring of domestic workers from all countries.

It was heralded as giving employees greater rights but also was criticised for allowing them to be penalised or fired if they did not obey their employer and his family members, protect the family’s property, preserve family secrets and not harm children or elderly members, the law reportedly states.