2m ‘available’ qualified illegals can meet local demand

There are about 2 million qualified expat workers in the Kingdom who have not rectified their status and are available to take up jobs needed by companies in the country, according to a business expert.
Fadal Abu Ainain, who also provides financial advice to a number of private companies, told Arab News that the Ministry of Labor should stop recruitment from abroad because many professional expatriates are currently living in the country.
“There are more than 2 million expat workers who are trained, have professional experience and living in the Kingdom,” he said. “These workers need to transfer their sponsorships to correct their status. The private sector can benefit from their services.”
Meanwhile, unregistered expats have about one month to rectify their status or face arrest, fines and deportation.
However, many companies here are refusing to transfer the workers to their sponsorship for full-time work because of budget constraints. Many of these workers do not insist on their rights because they may lose their part-time work, even though many earn about SR1,500 a month.
Ministry spokesman Hattab Al-Enizi told Arab News earlier that private-sector companies that hire expats without transferring their sponsorships would be punished.
The Passport Department has said it is intensifying efforts to help expatriate workers rectify their status.
Hussein Al-Sharif, head of the Makkah branch of the National Society for Human Rights, told Arab News: “We have received a number of complaints from expat workers who are in tragic situations in industrial factories. We plan to visit these factories to check out the conditions of these workers.
“However, we cannot force these factories to register workers under their sponsorships. Expat workers who cannot transfer their sponsorships to their employers must look for other sponsors to avoid punishment.”