Small business firms affected most RIYADH – The Nitaqat Program has resulted in a war for Saudi employees between private companies in the Kingdom, reported Al-Watan Arabic daily on Monday. The newspaper reported that companies are now offering Saudis attractive salaries and benefits so that they can boost their Saudization quotas. Small business owners now complain that many of their experienced Saudi employees have deserted them and joined the competition. Another consequence of the Nitaqat system is that companies are adding bogus names to their list of employees to boost their quotas. This has seen fewer Saudis employed. The Ministry of Labor has warned it will crack down on this activity. Making matters worse is that companies in the green zone are able to employ workers from red zone companies without getting permission from the Ministry of Labor. The employment process can take place in less than 45 days. Salah Al-Balali, Executive President of Tawteen Company, said this situation has resulted in a further intensification of the war for employees. He added that some big companies should be employing Saudis from universities and technical colleges rather than poaching experienced Saudis from competing companies. He said some small and medium sized companies are not employing citizens because they argue that Saudis simply look for other jobs after getting training. He said the ministry must deal with these issues instead of concentrating on less important matters.
