RIYADH, 6 April 2003 — As part of the enforcement of Saudization, a number of expatriates working as cashiers in various Riyadh supermarkets were arrested over the weekend. The arrests are in line with the government’s target to train and employ 20,000 Saudis for different jobs in which nationals should be given preference.
An Indian Embassy spokesman told Arab News that five of the arrested employees were Indians in possession of valid documents. He blamed the management of the supermarkets for employing expatriates as cashiers in violation of government rules. He said the matter had been raised with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, and the Riyadh governorate, and he expected the employees to be released soon.
Speaking on behalf of Euromarche, five of whose Indian employees were arrested, General Manager Adel Al-Habib said the supermarket had a training program to employ 25-30 Saudis. Once they completed the program, they would work as cashiers. As for the expatriates in detention, once they were released, they would be moved to other positions, he said. The arrests of supermarket cashiers comes at the same time as the Saudization drive in the gold souk and the vegetable markets. The government has suspended work permits for expatriates for 22 jobs in addition to 13 job categories which are reserved exclusively for Saudis.
There are incentives for hiring Saudis, such as preference in the granting of loans from the Saudi Industrial Development Fund and allocation of government contracts. Despite this carrot-and-stick policy, the level of Saudization in the private sector has remained low — only 25 percent of the work force.
