RIYADH, 30 July — Expatriate workers in the Kingdom will be required to open accounts at Saudi banks for receiving and transferring their salaries, according to new regulations that will come into effect before Ramadan.
High-level sources told Arab News that the rule is part of a new system that will regulate relations between employers and employees. “The measure aims at making sure that expatriate workers receive their salaries promptly,” they said, adding that this will also enable the transfer of money by them to be monitored. The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency is coordinating the implementation of the new law. According to a recent statement by Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Ali Al-Namlah, foreign workers in the Kingdom, estimated at about seven million, send home SR70 billion ($18.6 billion) a year.
Brad Bourland, assistant general manager and chief economist of Saudi American Bank, said the amount remitted by expatriates was between $15 billion and $18 billion annually. He said the remittances have been growing, keeping pace with an increase in the expatriate population.
Saudi economic analysts have underlined the significance of the new measure saying it would help prevent illegal transfers.
“It also protects the rights of both employers and employees. No employee will be able to deny that he has received his salary,” Dr. Fahd ibn Juma, an economic analyst, told Arab News. The measure, he said, will also help stop drainage of the Kingdom’s hard currency and prevent cover-up and money laundering operations.
Meanwhile, Brig. Fahd Al-Dakkan, director of public relations at the Passports Department, told Arab News that the department was preparing a list of foreign workers who will be allowed to retain their passports. At present the passports are kept with sponsors.
According to Labor Ministry sources, the new law on passports would benefit technical experts, engineers, doctors and those having master’s degrees or similar qualifications.
“This new system will be implemented for two years before assessing its success and to determine whether any new requirements are needed,” Al-Dakkan said.
The new labor law, according to Saad Al-Sudairy, acting Interior Ministry undersecretary, allows expatriates to apply for driving licenses and telephones without the involvement of sponsors unlike at present.
