JEDDAH, 17 January 2006 — The Gulf Cooperation Council labor ministers proposed restriction on the stay of expatriate workers to six years only because of fears that they would demand naturalization and rights equal to GCC citizens, Labor Minister Ghazi Al-Gosaibi said yesterday.
“Such a restriction will not be required if there is no such demand by the expats. But if they seek naturalization, the government will have to put the restrictions. In the present situation their stay would not be restricted to six years,” the Saudi Press Agency quoted Gosaibi as saying.
The GCC summit, which was held in Abu Dhabi last month, did not approve the proposal, which was based on a study conducted by Bahrain and the office of GCC labor ministers. Gosaibi, however, said the summit leaders did not reject the proposal either.
“This is a precautionary measure... We don’t have any objection to allowing expatriates to stay as long as they and their sponsors wanted. There is no problem in principle. But the problems started when there were demands for naturalization and providing them with the same rights of GCC citizens,” he said.
Gosaibi said it was difficult to naturalize the large numbers of expatriates working in the GCC states — Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.
“They have come for a specific purpose and not as immigrants. Unlike the United States and Europe, workers here come not as immigrants but on specific contracts to carry out specific works,” Gosaibi said.
GCC countries fear that naturalization would have economic, social, demographic, political and security consequences. The number of foreign workers in the Gulf countries is estimated at 12 million, which is increasing by five percent every year and expected to reach 18 million in 12 years.
“The Gulf region has become a unique region where foreign workers outnumber local populations,” Bahraini Minister of Labor Majeed Ibn Mohsen Al-Alawi said, noting that the ratio differs from country to country and varies from 60 to 90 percent.
Gosaibi warned against the demographic danger posed by expatriates in the GCC.
“We have made the proposal fixing six years as the maximum period of stay for expatriates in order to deal with the demographic threat,” he said.
Gosaibi emphasized the need for revamping labor offices across the country, by increasing their facilities and providing intensive training to its employees.
“I believe that if our staff at Labor offices are given good training they can solve about 70 percent of labor disputes,” he said after visiting the Labor office in Riyadh.
Gosaibi said the government decided to reduce foreign recruitment as part of a strategy to create more job opportunities for Saudis.
“This is not a new decision taken by the Labor Ministry. It is based on proposals made during the past 25 years,” he added.
He urged private companies that win government contracts not to exaggerate their foreign labor requirements.
“There is nothing strange if a company is given 20,000 visas if there was actual need for them,” the minister said and urged all private companies to employ as many Saudis as possible.
Gosaibi urged foreign countries to help protect the rights of their workers by keeping a watch on recruitment firms.
He said the government would take strict action against those who employ children. “Employing minors is a crime,” he added.
