Saleh Al-Zahrani Okaz/Saudi Gazette JEDDAH – The Ministry of Labor will take measures to modify the current sponsorship system, an informed source at the ministry told Okaz/Saudi Gazette. The source did not elaborate on what kind of measures the ministry is planning, but the concessions given in the extended grace period for undocumented expat workers to legalize their status have already eased the sponsorship system. Last year, the Ministry of Labor reportedly drafted a new law to end individual sponsorship. The draft law recommended the creation of an agency affiliated to the ministry to look after foreign workers. It was proposed to be called the “Foreign Workers' Affairs Agency” with its headquarters in Riyadh and branches all over the Kingdom. The draft law called for preventing employers from holding the passports of their employees. The sponsorship system, which is a topic of heated debate in the country, has led to exploitation, corruption and illegal activities like cover-up businesses. The source also said that the issue of total weekly working hours is still in the Shoura Council. The current day off in the private sector is Friday pending approval of two days off. Office/factory employees should not work for more than eight straight hours without compensation, according to Article 98 of the Labor Law. He called on those affected to file a complaint at the ministry. The source denied rumors that there had been a nullification of the SR2,400 annual fees imposed on sponsors of expat workers. He said the approval of an employer is not necessary for transfer of sponsorship during the rectification campaign in three cases – if there is a report on the worker's absence, expiry of the work permit and residence permit (Iqama), and non-issuance of a work permit and Iqama to the worker 90 days after arrival in the Kingdom. It is noteworthy that over seven million workers belonging to more than 100 nationalities are working in the Kingdom.
There is thriving labor black market, which the government says makes it harder for Saudis to get jobs in a country with an official 12 percent unemployment rate, and which economists say fosters inefficiencies. Companies try to get around localization quotas by hiring workers who are officially sponsored by another company. However, the government is trying to close that loophole by imposing the same quotas on manpower companies. Workers are also in violation if they work in a different professional field to the one they are listed under, a widespread problem in a country where many expatriates are officially listed as laborers but work as anything from drivers to administrators. Over two million Saudi nationals are suffering from unemployment. The universities and institutes add over 350,000 graduates annually to the labor pool. Only 20 percent of them are employed. While the general unemployment rate has reached 12 percent, unemployment among women has reached 28 percent.
