Members of the National Committee for Contractors have criticized the Ministry of Labor's Nitaqat program, which requires seven percent of all construction workers to be Saudis. Addressing a press conference at the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry Monday, they also rejected accusations that they are responsible for delayed public projects. Fahd Al-Hamadi, Chairman of the National Committee for Contractors, warned that the construction industry will suffer and will likely see an exodus of workers. “We have repeatedly tried to explain to them that 80 percent of the workers in the sector are unskilled and the rest are carpenters, concrete mixer drivers and hydraulic truck drivers. We want the Ministry of Labor to classify the occupations in the sector to determine the jobs that should be Saudized,” he said. “This may result in two possible scenarios: Either the market will be drained of workers, or will be manipulated by foreign contractors. In either case construction costs will be astronomical. By definition this will lead to the shrinkage of this vital sector which contributes so much to the country's development,” Al-Hamadi said. Engineer Mohand Al-Azawi, Deputy Chairman of the National Committee for Contractors, seconded Al-Hamadi for the classification of workers. He said the committee had reached an agreement with ministry officials over the Saudization quota. However, the quota was changed later by officials.
