The Labor Ministry will launch a new division that will be tasked to find ways to raise nationalization quotas amid efforts to curb rising unemployment.

Tayseer Al-Mufarrej, ministry spokesman, told a local newspaper that his ministry will soon launch a special panel to boost productivity and enhance the Saudi-to-expat ratio within the market.

The panel will be tasked with supervising Saudization procedures down to the last detail, starting with managerial and leadership jobs.

Mowafaq Al-Ruweili, a Shoura Council member, voiced objections to the formation of so many panels, requesting a committee to oversee all other panels.

“We demand the establishment of a special committee to manage the many panels in place,” he said. “Ministries only form panels when they fail to fulfill their obligations.”

He argued that raising productivity levels and supervising nationalization is the ministry’s job.

“If the panel were to take on these tasks, what would be left for the ministry to do?” he asked.

‘No exception’

Meanwhile, the ministry has rejected the requests of charities in the Kingdom for an exemption from labor fees on recruitment of foreign labor and issuance of work permits, saying that the rate of Saudization in these charities was very low.

In a communication to the Ministry of Social Affairs regarding its decision, the MoL said that the charities needed to improve their Saudization rates instead of hiring foreign labor. It demanded a raise of at least 50 percent of the national cadre in the charities, according to local media.

Commenting on the large number of expats in this field, the ministry stressed the importance of providing job opportunities to male and female Saudis and the necessity of localizing jobs in charities, cooperatives and social communities. It pointed out that charitable work is an attractive option for many Saudi job seekers.

 
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