For the last 15 years Salvador Abueva, a Filipino industrial engineer, has been working as manager and supervisor of a packaging company in Dammam although his Iqama is that of a laborer. He has repeatedly asked his sponsor to change his profession, but in vain. Desperate, he is now offering SR15,000 to anybody who can change his work status from laborer to engineer, his actual profession. The competitiveness and ability of foreign workers like Abueva to develop themselves and contribute to improving the Kingdom's workforce is curtailed by the sponsorship system, according to a study conducted by the Riyadh Economic Forum, which has been submitted to King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. “I don't care much about carrying an Iqama of a laborer as I have a job and an acceptable salary,” Abueva said. “But I would like to move on, probably consider better job offers, and bring my family.” “I cannot accomplish all these because of my faulty sponsorship status,” he said. Rey Mariano, another Filipino is in a similar situation. He has two degrees, one in biology and another in human resource development, but his profession in his Iqama is “building electrician.” When he arrived three years ago, his sponsor transferred him to another company to work as recruitment agent, a job he easily handles. However, he is often challenged by clients who question his Iqama status. Then there is Abu Ibrahim, a trained computer technician. When his sponsor's business went bust, he was transferred to work in a school in Al-Khobar as a maintenance crew. Among several others like them is Ahmed Bilal, an Indian travel specialist who worked in a travel company here for a decade, developed a strong network in the industry but is now selling textiles because of circumstances cause by the sponsorship system. NSHR proposal The National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) has proposed replacing the sponsorship system with a government commission to look after foreign workers. The sponsorship system restricts the freedom of workers because they are required to get the sponsor's permission for every activity they do, the NHSR said. Under the NSHR proposal, the workers would keep their passport and need not get their employer's permission to take up other work after their working hours or to bring their relatives over on visit visas One other major flaw in the sponsorship system is that it generates corruption through the so-called ‘free visa' trade. For decades, ghost companies have been operating solely to acquire visas that are black-marketed to workers or unscrupulous recruitment companies. Despite the Ministry of Labor's efforts to stop the ‘free visa' trade, foreign workers continue to be victimized and brought to the country, only to find that they have no job and, in several, cases, no legal residency status either since the racketeers are unable to get them an Iqama or work permit. In the Shoura Council too, abolition of the sponsorship system is discussed, so as to streamline the relationship between employers and foreign workers. The Shoura version is based on the proposal of the Labor Ministry and not of the NSHR. The business community is divided on the issue of abolishing the sponsorship system. A member of the Asharqia Chamber Eastern Province, who requested anonymity, said that abolishing the system would “worsen disharmony between employers and workers to the detriment of time-framed projects and jobs, due to the absence of control over workers” “I hope the new version will have better protection of businesses as well as the rights of foreign workers,” he said. It remains unclear what could possibly come in place of the sponsorship proposal. Dr. Said Al-Qahtani, president of Saudi Mining Company, said he is not very much aware of what's being proposed because it has not been properly explained by the proponents. The study, which analyzes the economic, planning, regulatory and operational dimensions of the Saudi labor market, also concluded that “the Saudization policy has flopped”. The Riyadh Economic Forum has identified many obstacles to manpower development in its study, “Vision for Development of Human Resources.” Other problems cited include the favoritism in the workplace (wasta), reluctance of citizens to relocate according to job needs, preference for government jobs, lack of commitment to ensure workers' right, negative views of vocational jobs, lack of graduates needed by the local labor market, increasing number of expat workers competing with Saudis, retrenchment of Saudi workers, scarcity of job for Saudi women, lack of training opportunities for Saudis, weak incentives, weak on-the-job training, and leniency is disciplining negligent workers According to the study, unemployment among Saudis is rising and that the new labor legislations stipulating a minimum 75-percent Saudization rate is unsuitable for some economic activities. Preference for foreign workers, weak coordination between public and private sectors in human resource development, private sector incapability to compete with government educational projects, too much focus on theory in education, weak counseling methods for students, and aging regulations and legislations governing the development of human resources were also cited as deterrent factors.
