A labor official has come out strongly in support of Saudi youths and said the major reason behind their unemployment is the presence of about seven million foreign workers in the Kingdom. “Some people brand Saudi youths as lazy and reckless. In fact these are false and baseless accusations because productivity is governed by the work atmosphere. If we ensure an appropriate atmosphere for them they will fully devote themselves to their jobs,” Ali Bin Abdullah Al-Salihi, Director of the Labor Office in Qassim, said. Citing an example, Al-Salihi said the Saudis working for the Electricity Company are distinguished for their high productivity and punctuality. “The same applies to the Saudis working for Saudi Telecom,” he said. “These are among the largest companies in the country where Saudis have proved themselves. This proves that if they find a proper work atmosphere they will work hard and disprove the objections against them,” he added. He said Saudis leaving their jobs must have a good reason, such as, long working hours and lack of incentives. “Most of the nationals in the private sector are not paid the housing and transportation allowances that foreign workers receive, he said. Al-Salihi also stressed the importance of the development of a mechanism of financial support worked out by the Human Resources Development Fund. He said there was an urgent need to increase the emoluments offered to Saudi job seekers to encourage them. He said the Fund was created to cover part of the salaries of job seekers working in the private sector. “The Fund needs to develop its mechanism further especially as regards salary scales. It concentrates on training rather than on salaries. This shows that the Fund does not handle the problem of low salaries for Saudi youth. In fact, these nominal salaries do not take into account the high cost of living,” he said.
