RIYADH, 20 April — Despite the Kingdom’s efforts for Saudization and finding opportunities for unemployed Saudis, a large national company with immense employment potential has been recruiting workers from a foreign country. The Saline Water Conversion Corporation, which invited applications from Indian workers for 79 posts in its desalination plants, explains that it was prompted to make the bid from outside the Kingdom as no qualified Saudi candidate answering to the company’s specifications was available.
“The notification for workers appeared in an Indian newspaper when no qualified Saudi applicant came forward for the jobs even though the SWCC advertised in several Saudi newspapers and Saudi Press Agency. The company urgently needed several workers to man the new projects which are scheduled to open shortly.
The steps to recruit from India were taken in coordination with the concerned official Saudi departments,” said Khaled Al-Menaifi, director of public relations in SWCC.
According to the information available to Arab News, the advertisement appeared in the Bombay-based Times of India on March 18 saying that SWCC required workers specialized in the maintenance, repair and operations of machinery, controls, electronics, designing and inspection of workshops.
The advertisement also specified that the applicants should have undergone training in a technical institute with five years experience in their specialization.
Their salaries would, according to the ad, be between SR4,800 for engineers and supervisors and SR3,400 for technicians while other workers will be paid between SR1,850 and SR2,750.
Al-Menaifi added that the posts in which expatriates were working, would be vacant when a qualified Saudi was available. On the other hand, he refused to comment on the demands of the several existing workers of the corporation for their unpaid housing allowances.
