Better job chances for Saudis? By Joe Avance?a Saudi Gazette JEDDAH – A foolproof way is opening up to ensure that Saudis with the required job skills do not lose out to foreign workers in finding employment. The watertight method is inherent in a recommendation made by the National Society of Human Rights (NSHR) this week that calls for doing away with the sponsorship system and giving a government authority the powers to oversee the rights of expatriate workers. The recommendation made in an 80-page NSHR study presented to higher authorities is cause for huge relief for many expatriates who remain under the mercy of unscrupulous employers. Complaints against employers are generally about delay in salary payment, withholding of end-of-service benefits and refusal to pay for contracted air tickets, medical expenses and legal fees in case an expatriate gets embroiled in a civilian or criminal dispute outside the workplace. NSHR recommends that the passports of expatriates be no longer impounded by employers (job sponsors). It also calls for scrapping the need for foreign workers to get their employer's permission to bring their families to the Kingdom, to perform Haj or to get married. “The present system restricts workers' freedom,” said Bandar Al-Hajjar, president of NSHR. “They need to get their sponsor's permission for almost everything. Even to get out of prison, the sponsor has to be present.” However, for all the positives in NSHR's recommedations, there appears to be a hidden caveat suggesting that the proposed government authority for expatriate affairs would have better control in regulating employment in Saudi Arabia where the jobless rate among young Saudis is 12 percent according to the Labor ministry though other estimates put the figure as high as 25 percent. In other words, one Saudi employer told Saudi Gazette, “The labor ministry will be in a better position to ensure that foreigners do not get jobs that should otherwise go to Saudi nationals under the government job nationalization program. With one central authority for all foreign workers, there will be better regulation of the labor market through better control of the manpower database, allowing for a more streamlined absorbtion of qualified Saudi workers into the labor force.” At present, Saudi employers tend to prefer hiring expatriates on low salaries rather than choosing a Saudi national, regardless of the qualifications of either, or both. Moreover, many in the Saudi business community appear to have no objections against the NSHR proposal. “Anything that will improve the state of our guest workers will be satisfactory for us in the business community,” said Salman Bin Mohammed. Al-Jishi, a board member of the Asharqia Chambers in Eastern Province. He said abolition of sponsorship would greatly minimize disputes between Saudi employers and foreign workers, which have more often than not adversely affected both parties. Businessmen expressed positive impact and ramification of the proposal of the National Society of Human Rights (NSHR) to abolish the sponsorship system and replace it with a government commission to look after the foreign workers. “Whether it be a government commission or just a national company, the idea will certainly be supported by businessmen,” Al-Jishi said. Jafar Al- Shaiyeb, a social activist and member of Qatif Municipal Council, said the proposal “is a very important move to give foreign workers their freedom and dignity as workers.” Filipino engineer N.P.M. is one worker who claims to have suffered a lot under the sponsorship system. “The simple act of obtaining a multiple exit-reentry visa has become a nightmare for me because of the restrictions imposed by my sponsor the moment I request for a multiple exit-reentry visa,” he said. “This has had negative effect on my person as well as my family. Imagine keeping my family like prisoners in their flat every time I have an overseas business trip because my employer thinks I would never come back.” John V, an Indian project manager, said that in his experience of more than 20 years in the Kingdom, the sponsorship system has greatly damaged the relationship between his employer and his co-workers. “The misunderstandings and rifts in the workplace, during times when workers take their annual vacation, and other details involving benefits – all these problems arise all too often,” he said. Al-Hajjar of NSHR said the current restrictive sponsorship system discourages foreign skilled workers from coming to work in Saudi Arabia. The NSHR has also proposed a mandatory insurance scheme to protect the rights of both employers and foreign workers. “This will ensure payment of salaries, end-of-service benefits, tickets and expenses of lawyers in case of disputes,” said Mufleh Al-Qahtani, vice president of NSHR. The move to abolish the sponsorsip system goes back to 1999 when a Royal Order was issued to set up a ministerial committee to deal with the issue. The Council of Ministers subsequently issued a resolution to discontinue the word “sponsor” and introduced major labor reforms. However, the General Directorate of Passports continues to use the word “sponsor” (kafala) and requires the approval of sponsors for many expatriate affairs. Al-Qahtani said the NSHR proposal was in response to several complaints from both Saudis and expatriates. “We don't see any real benefit from the present sponsorship system either for the workers or for their employers,” he said. There remain some Saudi businessmen who are not comfortable with the NSHR proposal. “Abolishing the sponsorship system will create more problems; abuse by workers will even be more accentuated,” one businessman opposed to the idea, who asked not to be identified, said. – With additional reporting by Mansour Al
