DAMMAM: The regulations defining the function of mega recruitment companies which will recruit housemaids and workers for the private sector has been signed, said Engineer Adel Fakieh, Minister of Labor, in a report carried by Arabic daily Asharq Al-Awsat. He made the announcement while addressing a gathering of businessmen at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Dammam on Tuesday, on the proposed “Zones System” which will be enforced effective June 11. Fakieh said the regulation will be published in the official Gazette next week. He said the law makes it permissible for every five recruitment offices to set up one recruitment company with capitalization of not less than SR50 million. He said the “Zones System”, with respect to Saudis working in the private sector, will reward disciplined and committed Saudi workers at companies where they have been trained and offered jobs. The law will also punish Saudi employees who move from one company to another. He said the law will provide equal protection for the rights of companies which employ Saudis. He said the ministry has reached an advanced stage in the application of the Zones System. At this point, the ministry is examining the jobs offered to Saudis and whether they have been employed in key posts at companies. He said the companies employing locals as security guards and expeditors will not benefit much from this plan because the system stipulates that Saudis should be employed in administrative and key posts. He said the ministry will submit a proposal to the responsible higher authorities to propose an increase in the fees for the work permits of non-Saudis. This extra money will be used to finance the employment of Saudis in various companies. He assured business owners that the ministry deals with 800,000 companies and will only apply the Zones System to 300,000 companies. He said the system will also be applied to foreign investors. He said the ministry will never clash with businessmen and was convinced the new system will see increased competition among companies to ensure they fall in the excellent and green zones. This will ensure they can renew the visas for their foreign workers. The zones or “Nitaqat” system, will see private companies and establishments classified into three colors – green, yellow and red – according to the number of Saudis they employ, according to reports. The green companies will be given a number of advantages, including recruitment of manpower from foreign countries and the transfer of employees in the yellow and red categories without their companies' consent. The ministry expects the system to completely wipe out the black market in visas where foreigners run businesses using Saudis. Companies in the yellow category that do not fulfill Saudization conditions, should correct their status in order to get the iqamas of their workers renewed. The iqamas of those foreign workers in red category companies will not be renewed at all, irrespective of the years they have spent in the Kingdom. The new Nitaqat system allows for the renewal of iqamas without any condition for expatriates who work in companies in the green and excellent category, according to a report carried by the Saudi Press Agency. The new measure would not apply to house servants as their iqamas would be renewed automatically.
