S. Arabia to ease restrictions on foreign workers
riyadh — Saudi Arabia said on Wednesday it will ease key restrictions on millions of foreign workers, under reforms to its labour policy.
The Saudi human resources and social development ministry said that from March 14, expatriates will no longer need their employers’ authorisation to change jobs, travel or leave Saudi Arabia, which is home to some 10 million foreigners.
“This initiative will improve and increase the efficiency of the work environment,” the ministry said in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.
The reforms, if fully implemented, could have a big impact on the Saudi labour market and the lives of blue-collar foreign workers who lack effective recourse against overcrowded housing and exploitative employers.
Sattam Alharbi, a deputy minister at the ministry, said the changes will abolish “runaway” reports against foreign workers who do not report for duty, which effectively makes offenders at risk of being jailed and deported.
“These changes are not small changes — it’s huge,” Alharbi told Bloomberg News in an interview on Wednesday.
“We aim to achieve more inclusion for Saudis, attract talent, improve the working conditions, make Saudi Arabia’s labour market more dynamic and productive.” —
riyadh — Saudi Arabia on Wednesday announced new plans to ease foreign workers’ contractual restrictions, improving a seven-decade-old sponsorship system known as kafala.
The plans, to take effect in March 2021, aim to make the Saudi labour market more attractive, the deputy minister for human resources said. The reforms will allow foreign workers the right to change jobs by transferring their sponsorship from one employer to another, leave and reenter the country and secure final exit visas without the consent of their employer, which had long been required.
“Through this initiative we aim to build an attractive labour market and improve the working environment through three main services. ..available to all foreign workers in the private sector,” Abdullah bin Nasser Abuthunain said.
Saudi Arabia, which chairs the Group of 20 major economies (G20) this year, is seeking to boost its private sector, part of an ambitious plan to diversify its oil
Through this initiative we aim to build an attractive labour market and improve the working environment through three main services. ..available to all foreign workers in the private sector.” ABDullAH BIn NAssEr AButHunain, Saudi deputy minister for human resources
dependent economy.
The move will help attract high-skilled workers and help achieve Vision 2030 objectives, Abuthunain added.
Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 reform plan is a package of economic and social policies designed to free the kingdom from reliance on oil exports.
The currently applicable kafala system generally binds a migrant worker to one employer. Rights groups, including Amnesty International, have been calling on Saudi authorities to end that system which leaves workers vulnerable to abuses.
The new initiative will base the relation between employers and workers on a contract that should be certified by the government, and will allow workers to apply directly for services via an e-government portal, instead of a mandatory employers’ approval.