With regard to the article "We need a Ministry of Expatriate Workers" (Sep. 13), what the Kingdom desperately needs is a revision of its naturalization law. There are thousands of highly qualified expats who are in very senior positions. In any other country, it is this category of people who start SMEs and drive growth and develop the nation. Most of them have been in Saudi Arabia for more than 25 years and they have the experience, the brains and most of the time the money as well. Why aren't they being empowered? I suggest that they be granted permanent residency if not citizenship. Saudi Born, Online response II. That is a good idea, but, unfortunately, all the power is given to the Ministry of Labor. Its responsibility should be to establish employer obligations and employee rights with respect to rates of pay, hours of work and overtime, vacations, public holidays, leaves of absence and more. The residence permit should be handled by other government bodies. Right now the Ministry of Labor is the judge, jury and executioner. Lil, Online response III. A new ministry could possibly help, but most likely it would just cause more bureaucracy. Also the author of this article seems to focus mainly on the needs of the nation and overlooks the needs of expatriate workers. How about more justice for workers who have been taken advantage of by the current system? If a new ministry can help protect expatriates and improve their quality of life here in the Kingdom, then I would support it. But perhaps the focus should first be on enforcing the current laws. Erick, Online response
