Many industrial factories in Jeddah still resort to hiring illegal expat workers on a temporary basis even though they are tasked with legalizing the status of existing staff.
These factories aim to increase productivity at a low cost. Managers at these factories are exploiting workers by paying them low salaries while failing to transfer their sponsorship.
Ironically, this suits many of the employees at these industrial factories, who prefer to continue earning wages at several factories at once. Most of these workers are Somali and Pakistani citizens.
Factories claim that they do not have the time or manpower to look for trained Saudis who will accept part-time work.
As such, these factories resort to hiding their illegal expat workers to meet client demand, as they face work pressure and are required to deliver clients’ orders as soon as possible as part of their contracts.
“We used to hire expatriate workers to increase our productivity due to high demand. However, our HR department now checks official documents before allowing them to work in the factory. We have stopped hiring expat workers without transferring their sponsorship,” said Ali Hakeem, an HR manager at a private company.
Labor Office inspectors conduct surprise visits to check that official documentation is provided. This has prompted many factories to legalize the status of their workers.
The central region of the Kingdom is home to around 2,500 factories valued at SR101.1 billion. The Eastern Province has 1,325 factories, of which the combined value exceeds SR339 billion, a local newspaper reported.
Labor laws in the Kingdom have banned hiring expatriate workers without official documentation. Private sector companies also have foreign workers under their sponsorship and provide them with contracts.
Arab News tried to contact the Labor Office’s director in Jeddah to ask about the results of these ad hoc visits to no avail.
“I was working for an industrial factory located in the south of Jeddah. The factory paid me only SR1,200 per month. It also refused to transfer my sponsorship. I continued working in this factory hoping to get my full rights, but the company dismissed me on grounds that it is no longer in need of my services,” said Mahmoud Mosa, a Somali resident looking for a job in a factory in Jeddah.
Deadlines push factories to hire expat workers as part-timers
