Riyadh - The new plan is to create jobs for Saudi men and women that will give them financial stability and minimise cover-up activities.
Published: Fri 22 Apr 2016, 3:01 PM
The Ministry of Labour in Saudi Arabia will not allow any foreign nationals to continue work in the mobile and telecommunications industry in the Kingdom, media reports.
The announcement was made on Wednesday, as a follow-up to the directive issued by Labour Minister Mufrej Al Haqabani which stated that only Saudis will be employed in the mobile phone industry, including sales, maintenance and accessories by Sept. 2.
Labour Ministry spokesman Khalid Abha Al Khail said that the rule applies to all regardless of their nationality
Saudi Gazette released a statement in which Khaled Abal Khail, spokesman for the ministry was quoted as saying:
"All jobs in the sales outlets and maintenance shops of mobile phones and their accessories will be restricted to Saudi men and women after the six-month grace period that will end on Sept. 3 (Dhul Hijjah 1)," said Khaled Abal Khail, spokesman for the ministry.
He said the ministry, in cooperation and coordination with the concerned government agencies, will strictly enforce the decision.
"As part of this, intensive inspection raids will be carried out on all mobile sales and maintenance outlets across the Kingdom and strict punitive measures will be taken against the violators of the regulations," he said, adding that the inspection campaign will start from June 6 (Ramadan 1), which is the deadline for the implementation of the first phase of the decision. All mobile shops have been directed to implement 50 percent Saudiation by that deadline.
According to Arab News report, the employment of locals will be carried out in this sector by the Labour Ministry in coordination with the Ministries of Commerce and Industry, Municipal and Rural Affairs and Communications and Technology, the Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF), Technical and Vocational Training Corporation (TVTC), the General Organisation for Social Insurance, and other agencies.
The training program will be conducted in coordination with the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation,TVTC, and will cover areas such as customer service, sales management, the basics of mobile maintenance, and maintenance of advanced mobile phones.
The new plan is to create jobs for Saudi men and women that will give them financial stability and minimise cover-up activities.
The ministry has warned that violators, particularly those businesspeople and their employees involved in cover-ups, will be subject to heavy penalties, Arab news reports.
'No expat recruitment if qualified Saudis available'
The private sector will be allowed to recruit foreign manpower from outside only if there are no qualified Saudis to take the jobs the employers are looking for.
The recruitment process will be transferred to the Labour Ministry's electronic National Gate for Jobs to give chance to the Saudi workforce, reported Saudi Gazette earlier this week.
The aim is to increase their employment rate to 24 percent by 2020
No jobs for expats in HR
The Saudi Gazette earlier reported that Ministry of Labour unveiled plans to restrict to Saudis all jobs related to human resources (HR) as well as positions in the departments dealing with hiring workers in the private sector.
The report released earlier this week by the Gazette said that the ministry had asked private sector firms to comment on its plans via its website before any decision is implemented. The consultation period will close on 23 April.
Restrictions on foreign teacher recruitment
The Gazette recently published another report on March 20, 2016 regarding ban of expat teachers from teaching certain subjects.
Under new regulations, non-Saudi teachers will be unable to lead classes in Arabic, Islamic studies and social sciences.
The Ministry of Education has also laid down nine new criteria for hiring non-Saudi teachers, according a report.
Under the new regulations, a non-Saudi teacher must have a minimum of two years teaching experience without a break, must be qualified to teach the subject he is being hired for, must pass an interview, have at least a Bachelor's in Education degree, must not be over 65 years of age and must not have taught in the country for the last three years.
According to the report, the ministry has also increased the regulations for non-Saudi teachers residing in the Kingdom.
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