The Ministry of Interior is supporting the directive issued by the Ministry of Labor and Social Development to achieve total Saudization of all sales outlets and maintenance shops of mobile phones and their accessories in the Kingdom. A number of public agencies have joined forces to implement the directive as the first phase of its plan to replace 50 percent of expat workers with Saudis started on June 6 and the deadline to fully replace expat workers with Saudis is only a month away (Sept. 2). Officials from the Ministry of Interior are working hand-in-hand to track down violators of labor and residency regulations in the telecommunication sector in cooperation with the ministries of commerce and investment, municipal and rural affairs and communication and IT. Khaled Abalkhail, spokesman for the Ministry of Labor and Social Development, commended the efforts of Interior Ministry and others to carry out inspection campaigns on telecom shops across the Kingdom. Abalkhail emphasized that inspection visits to shops selling mobile phones and accessories will continue as the sector is vital to generate stable and lucrative job opportunities for Saudi males and females. He said that Saudization violations should be reported via the website rasd.ma3an.gov.sa as all tip-offs will be handled promptly. The ministry is keeping an eye on violations committed by establishments and expat workers in the sector by receiving reports on the customer service no. 19911, the spokesman said.
