08:30 ص
Monday 27 June 2022
Books – Youssef Afifi:
Ahmed Al-Rajhi, the Saudi Minister of Human Resources and Social Development, issued new Saudization decisions that limit work in a number of professions in different sectors to Saudi citizens only, and prevent foreign expatriates from working in them.
The minister said in a tweet via his personal account on Twitter: “Six decisions have been issued to localize a number of qualitative professions in the sector (transportation – logistics services – health sector – periodic vehicle inspection activity – sales outlets in a number of important activities).”
Al-Rajhi explained that the new Saudization decisions aim to provide more opportunities for the sons and daughters of the country, and to enhance their active participation in the national economy, without specifying the number of Saudi employees who will benefit from the new decisions, or the date of implementation of the decisions.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia aims to reduce the unemployment rate, at a time when the country has set a goal of reaching an unemployment rate of 7% in 2030 from about 13% when starting that plan in 2016.
The successive nationalization decisions in the past years coincided with a change in the inferior view of many of the people of the largest oil-exporting country in the world towards some of the professions that they used to resent in the past and were occupied by foreigners, who number approximately 13 million people.
The retail sector received the largest share of Emiratisation plans in the past period, which included the professions of car and motorcycle stores, ready-made clothing and children’s clothing stores, household utensils, men’s supplies, and home and office furniture stores.
The Saudization plans included electrical and electronic appliances stores, watches, glasses, medical devices and equipment, sweets, construction and building materials, and carpets, in addition to auto spare parts stores.
Saudi decisions include Egyptian citizens from working in these professions, as they are general decisions.
For his part, the Labor Attaché, Ahmed Ragaei, head of the Labor Representation Office in Riyadh affiliated with the Ministry of Manpower, commented on the new Saudization decisions limiting work in a number of professions in different sectors to Saudi citizens only, and preventing foreign expatriates from working in them.
Rajaei said in a statement to Masrawy: “These professions have been announced, and we are waiting for the issuance of their resettlement guide.”