WHEN the minister of labor and social development attributed the increase of Saudi unemployment rate to 12.1 percent in the third quarter of 2016 to the rise in the number of university graduates and the stoppage of some government projects, he was not giving any new facts. At present, there are about 40 public and private universities across the Kingdom producing more than 130,000 graduates every year. This was quite expected and the ministry should have taken measures to absorb the new graduates in the job market. The stoppage or termination of projects takes place not just in the Kingdom but in all countries of the world, especially when the authorities review their priorities and the importance of such projects compared to other pressing issues and welfare schemes required by the country and its citizens time to time. Economic slowdown in the Kingdom and other parts of the world is another reason for the government to halt certain development projects. I was surprised not by the stoppage government projects but by the private sector's continuous dependence on the government for decades. We have seen many private companies close their businesses or retrench employees when there is a cut in government spending or the postponement of certain public projects. Since the 1980s, we have been considering government jobs filled by expats as vacant for Saudi nationals to grab as soon as qualified national cadres become available. When the private sector banks heavily on government spending, why don't they reciprocate by considering their expat-held jobs as vacant to be filled by qualified Saudis? Private companies should replace foreign workers with qualified Saudis without putting before them the difficult condition of having several years of experience. When the private sector insists that it cannot act as a social security provider, the businessmen should not forget that they are among the major beneficiaries of government spending. I have written several times about the suffering of Saudi workers at private companies dominated by employees from specific Arab countries who make Saudis strangers in their own country. They try to sideline Saudis by unfair means. These Saudis are forced to quit their jobs and then stay in the queues of unemployed people. Why doesn't the ministry move quickly to take action against such companies like it used to do during the time of Ghazi Al-Gosaibi? Why doesn't the ministry take measures to protect citizens working in these companies that swallow the Kingdom's wealth and resources? I propose the ministry set up a special department to protect the rights of Saudis working in private companies. I am sorry to say that the Labor and Social Development Ministry is showing more interest in issuing visas to recruit foreign workers than safeguarding the jobs of citizens. We don't need foreigners to take administrative and IT jobs as we have many qualified Saudis to fill them. It's a waste of national resources if we do not take proper action to employ young Saudis who have got degrees from national and international universities and who are ready to work.
