JEDDAH: ‘No one is above the new labor law.' This is what Adel Fakieh, Minister of Labor, disclosed was said to him by King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. Fakieh said that the King wants the law to be applied without fear or favor in terms of the recruitment of Saudis and expatriates in the country. The ministry is expected to announce Saturday the details of the Zones Programs, including the incentives and penalties for companies falling into each category. Companies will either fall into the red, yellow, green or excellent categories. This will be displayed on the ministry's website. Fakieh said that there will be no exemptions from the new categories. Fakieh added that since he took over as labor minister he has yet to come across any illegal trading in visas. “This might have happened in the past,” he said. “Not a single person has exercised pressure on the ministry to issue work visas or violated the system. We are supported by the Ministry of Interior.” However, he could not guarantee that there has been no illegal trading in visas. He said the new program will help to redistribute foreign workers to eligible organizations. The system is not meant to dry up the flow of workers to the market or stop the issue of visas. It allows for new visas to be issued to companies falling into the excellent category without restriction, even if they fall into the green zone. He said the zones system will force foreign workers, whose companies fall into the yellow category, to leave the country after six years. This will serve as a warning and a grace period for these companies to improve their Saudization quotas. “Once again, I repeat that this is considered a grace period for the establishments falling into the yellow zone. But the situation is different for those companies which fall into the red zone. The residence permits of the workers of this category will not be renewed whether they have completed or have not completed six years.” He said the new system ensures a better work environment for Saudi workers. It enables them to continue for a longer time in their jobs because of the conditions attached to registering them on the Social Insurance System. He said the system is not meant to penalize foreign workers in any way. Instead, it allows those who work for establishments in the yellow and red zones the freedom to transfer their services to other business owners whose organizations fall in the green or excellent categories. “Of course, this will enable them to stay for a longer period. But it should be understood that they can't transfer their services to the green and excellent zoned companies unless they achieve the set Saudization quota.” The six-year regulation also serves as an incentive to the green and excellent companies to continue to recruit the services of well-trained Saudi workers. It also encourages the red and yellow companies to work hard to realize the set Saudization quota.
