About 95 percent of the inspected telecom establishments in Najran have been found to be showing compliance to the Saudization directive, the Ministry of Labor and Social Development has said. According to the latest statistics, inspectors reported that the percentage of such law-abiding establishments in the Northern Borders has reached 93 and 67 in Asir respectively. Collective inspectors dispatched from various ministries have shut down 498 of the 1,655 establishments in Asir, pegged as the top region that failed to nationalize 50 percent Saudization in the first phase of its plan. The inspections have discovered 2,925 violations in all regions of the Kingdom, 2,131 of them forwarded to the penalties committee while 794 have been warned of closure if they continue to ignore ministry's regulation. Dr. Fahad Al-Owaidi, deputy minister for inspection and development of work environment at the ministry, said 20,569 visits to as many as shops selling mobile phones and accessories across the Kingdom were conducted. He stressed that the crackdown would not lose momentum until the whole telecom sector is nationalized before Sept. 2. The Eastern Province has earned the largest share of telecom establishments being visited with 6,224, followed by Riyadh with 2,784, Makkah with 2,768, Qassim with 2,041, Asir with 1,711 and Madinah with 1,355, added Al-Owaidi as other main regions covered in the plan. Al-Owaidi also said that the ministry is striving hard to urge establishments to comply with the Saudization directive and conduct nationwide inspections. Meanwhile, the ministries of labor and social development, commerce and investment, municipal and rural affairs and communication and IT as well as security personnel have been working hand in hand to carry out the decision as directive adhering shops have increased to 17,525 on July 27 from 669 on June 6. Meanwhile, the ministry said it was keen to nationalize this vital and lucrative sector given its capability of generating stable job opportunities for Saudi nationals, calling upon labor parties to report Saudization violations via the website (rasd.ma3an.gov.sa). The ministry is keeping an eye on violations committed by establishments and expat workers in the sector by receiving stakeholders' calls on the customer service no. 19911.
