The Ministry of Labor has booked 10 general services establishments in Riyadh, Makkah and the Eastern Province for violating the labor laws of the country, a senior official from the ministry told Arab News Tuesday.

According to the official, the violations were detected during an inspection by labor officers last week. “The inspection team visited 44 offices to check if the offices were in compliance with the labor laws,” he added.

Among the major violations spotted during the inspection were workers working under different sponsors, expatriates working in jobs meant for nationals, practicing without official labor licenses and deployment of foreign workers in professions which are not commensurate with their qualifications.

According to statistics issued by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, there are some 11,188 general services offices and 338 licensed recruitment offices in various regions and cities of the Kingdom.

The official said that the ministry has called on citizens and residents to be aware of the differences between recruitment offices and general services establishments. He said their respective functions are clearly outlined in the ministry’s website for the benefit of those who use the services of these business houses.

The ministry has also allocated a telephone number for customer service (920001173) to receive complaints, inquiries and questions about the offices of public services and recruitment programs with regard to household labor.

As a form of punitive action, the ministry has directed the recruitment offices to compensate 22 Saudi sponsors for delaying the recruitment of some of their workers.
He also warned the recruiting and general services offices to follow the local regulations strictly to avoid penalties which can range from SR10,000 to SR30,000. He also cautioned the offices against misleading the public by promising services that they are not supposed to offer.

The recruitment offices coordinate between the foreign agencies and the local employers in the recruitment of manpower.

Last year, Saudi Arabia accredited 10 “mega” recruitment agencies to recruit and deploy overseas workers. The recruitment agencies can deploy foreign manpower to private and public sector companies and individual employers in accordance with Saudi labor laws.