JEDDAH/DHAHRAN, 24 May 2007 — Deputy Labor Minister for Planning and Development Abdul Wahid Al-Humaid emphasized the need for finding jobs for the more than 500,000 unemployed Saudis in order to reduce crime.

“The crime rate among the unemployed has increased by 320 percent from 1990 to 1996 ... If the private and public sectors do not take quick steps to tackle the unemployment problem the society will be in danger,” he said.

Al-Humaid made this comment while addressing a preparatory meeting of the 7th National Dialogue in Dhahran. About 600 students and delegates from employment institutions attended the discussions.

The National Dialogue is a semi-annual forum that brings together government officials, nongovernmental organizations and citizens to address Saudi policies and future strategies for social development. Past dialogues have addressed topics such as Saudi relations with outsiders, women’s empowerment and religious extremism. The 2007 National Dialogue will take place later this year and will focus on labor issues.

The participants at the preparatory meeting in Dhahran discussed the security, social and economic problems created by unemployment, such as terrorism, theft, divorce, inability of youth to get married and begging.

“There is strong relation between terror cells and unemployment,” said Saad Al-Dossary, a well-known writer. Most Al-Qaeda militants and others arrested for various crimes were jobless at the time of their arrests, he pointed out.

Al-Humaid announced his ministry’s 25-year national strategic plan to spur Saudi employment.

“We have already presented the plan to the Supreme Economic Council for approval,” he said, adding it contained short-term, medium-term and long-term goals.

Al-Humaid said the strategy was prepared after consulting businessmen at five chambers of commerce and industry. It calls for greater cooperation and coordination between various government departments to facilitate employment of Saudis.

Al-Humaid said about 86 percent of Saudi jobseekers carry secondary school certificates and 65 percent intermediate school certificates. However, he pointed out that the ministry was successful in finding jobs for 135,000 Saudis who had registered with employment bureaus. He urged the private sector to review its employment strategy as it employs 5.5 million expatriate workers against 700,000 Saudis.

Saleh Al-Hosain, president of the National Dialogue Forum, said the government was giving top priority to tackle unemployment.

“We have decided to hold this meeting here in appreciation of the great role being played by the region, especially Saudi Aramco, in solving unemployment,” he said.

Students who took part in the discussions urged authorities to take effective measures to tackle the country’s unemployment problem as quickly as possible. Farah Al-Ghamdi, a girl student, called for a national program to employ jobless Saudis.

Obstacles facing women to get employed figured high at the Dhahran meeting. Lack of job opportunities, customs and traditions and religious restrictions were some of the reasons for the growing unemployment rate among Saudi women. Jobs for women are still restricted to health and education. A woman participant said female graduates who had studied the sciences were finding difficulty to get suitable jobs.

Saad Al-Shahrani spoke about the unnecessary din and bustle created by some people against the Labor Ministry’s plan to restrict jobs at lingerie shops to women.

Lama Al-Sulaiman, chairperson of the Khadija bint Khuwailed Center for Businesswomen, said in comments published yesterday that the interpretations on Shariah restrictions were obstructing employment of women. She said while top officials in the government were supporting employment of women, executive officials were standing in the way, interpreting the Shariah condition in accordance with their whims and fancies.

The need for better working conditions, a strict enforcement of labor laws and a discussion about the role of workers’ organizations were also discussed at the meeting on Tuesday.

Some student participants demanded that the Saudi workers should be treated with dignity whatever their job and that occupational safety should be guaranteed.

The speakers said that the major obstacle in finding employment for the educated Saudi youngsters is the dearth of candidates with the required specializations.

Faisal ibn Muammar, secretary-general of the King Abdul Aziz Center for National Dialogue, emphasized the importance of the open dialogues and seminars being held with the aim of removing the obstacles that stand in the way of their employment.

Muhammad Al-Hamdan, director of the Labor Office in the Eastern Province, said the major priority of the government is to find employment for Saudis. He pointed out that plenty of opportunities are being offered but that more must be done to stop foreign labor recruitment in jobs that could be filled with Saudis.