Representatives of the Ministry of Labor inspect gas stations to ensure they adhere to labor rules. The inspectors documented 235 violations including 143 instances of workers who were not under the sponsorship of the gas stations where they were working. — SG photo Fatima Muhammad Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — Many gas station owners urged the Ministry of Labor to revise their Saudization quotas as inspectors documented many violations during their visit to gas stations in 70 cities. Ibrahim Al-Rabia, an investor and member of the national committee for gas station companies, said gas stations in the Kingdom are facing a number of challenges that prevent them from meeting their Saudization quotas. The contracting sector has to meet a quota of only 5 percent while gas stations are asked to meet a 13 percent to 17 percent Saudization quota, he claimed. Gas stations, he said, rely on cheap labor. They aim to meet Saudization targets by employing Saudis as managers and security guards. Other potential jobs are those of supervisors. “However, we cannot have a supervisor for each gas station. We can recruit one for every four stations,” said Al-Rabia. Meanwhile, representatives of the Ministry of Labor toured 70 cities around the Kingdom in cooperation with security officers to ensure gas stations adhere to labor rules. They documented 235 violations including 143 instances of workers who were not under the sponsorship of the gas stations where they were working. A total of 290 labor investigators and 144 security officials took part in the campaign. Riyadh topped the list with 20 violations followed by Makkah and Taif with 19 violations each. Fourth on the list was Hail with 12 violations, 11 in Jazan and nine in Qasim. Deputy Minister of Labor for Investigations and Development of Work Environments Abdullah Abu Ethnian said the ministry was notified about the violations by numerous sources as well as media reports. The campaign, explained Abu Ethnain, comes as part of the ministry's continuous efforts to organize the labor market and stop the recruitment of violators. The investigators are now using a program with which they can register the violators remotely, added Abu Ethnian. The deputy minister called on locals and expatriates who document any violations to call the ministry's toll-free number 19911.
