Saleh Al-Turaiqi Okaz newspaper THE Ministry of Labor has decided to include small businesses that have nine or less workers in the Nitaqat system as part of the government's ongoing efforts to create more jobs for Saudis. According to the new regulations, small businesses must employ at least one Saudi with a minimum monthly salary of SR3,000. The ministry decided to implement the decision effective mid-March. Small businesses that fail to comply with the new regulations will be listed in Nitaqat's red category and those that comply will be placed in the green category. It is clear from this statement that owners of all small businesses such as gasoline stations, grocery stores, barber shops, restaurants, bakeries and hardware stores need to employ Saudi citizens. There are more than 150 large companies that are in the red category for failing to meet Saudization quotas. As the late former Labor Minister Ghazi Al-Gosaibi said, the ministry can achieve 15 percent Saudization. So, how can the ministry go ahead and begin enforcing this new directive when it has failed to implement its earlier decision that necessitates large companies find Saudi employees who have the same educational qualifications and skills as their non-Saudi employees? As for small business owners, they will not be able to find Saudi workers so they can leave the red category and enter the green one. In principle, I am not against implementing the new rule but I hope to see the day when Saudi society no longer looks at such labor-intensive jobs as menial and degrading. The concerned authorities should at least do two things if they really want to implement the rule. First, prevent Saudis who come forward to take up such jobs from being involved in “disguised unemployment” in which business owners lie to the government by showing that they have employed a Saudi. In reality, young Saudi men are given a monthly stipend to not show up to work! The second and most important factor is the equal treatment of all companies; both large corporations and small businesses should be treated equally. Moreover, Saudization laws should apply to both equally and fairly.
