Firms use visually impaired to meet Saudization quota

Unscrupulous employers are using citizens with visual disabilities to hike their Saudization quotas by either employing them without their knowledge, or for a pittance.
Mohammed Al-Shwimman, director of the Kafif Charity Society, revealed this on Thursday at a press conference to announce job creation initiatives for people with visual disabilities in the country.
Al-Shwimman said many people with visual disabilities are employed but do not receive salaries. He said many others have resigned from their jobs because their employers have failed to provide them with adequate work environments.
He said the charity is currently setting up a database of people with visual disability in the country to check on their employment status.
The Ministry of Labor counts a special needs employee as four Saudis toward Saudization quotas. Once companies make the quota, they are allowed to employ foreigners. However, many companies employ these people with minimal salaries to stay at home.
Nasser bin Ali Al-Musa, chairman of the Kafif society and a member of the Shoura Council, confirmed that many companies are involved in these illegal practices. This is taking place because many employers believe that people with visual disabilities are unable to work.
According to government statistics released in 2013, the majority of the Kingdom’s 375,795 registered persons with disabilities are neglected and often exploited.
According to reports, there is a lack of coordination between the Ministries of Labor and Social Affairs, and the private sector, to help these people.
There is no governing body for such people, which means an absence of classifications on the exact nature of their disabilities. There are also no records kept of their personal skills and abilities.
In addition, with no laws to protect them from exploitation in the workplace, people with disabilities are often deprived of promotions and other benefits regardless of their educational qualifications or job performance.
It was found that once employers use them to meet Saudization quotas they neglect them or force them to resign.