JEDDAH, 4 November — Several investors in the limousine business have appealed to the authorities to Saudize the cabbies’ job in a phased manner. The investors have also suggested that a committee be set up for the full implementation of the recent order of Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, barring expatriates from working as taxi drivers, Al-Watan reported yesterday.
The investors plan to meet with Crown Prince Abdullah shortly, said Saad Al-Fahd, owner of a limousine company in the Eastern Province. While 85 companies in the Eastern Province operate 4,000 cabs in the region only 15 percent of their drivers are Saudis. Al-Fahd said that a meeting of the company-owners was held at the Eastern Province Chamber of Commerce and Industry to discuss how the implementation of the new order would affect their companies. They also decided to submit a memorandum to the crown prince with suggestions to implement the order without damaging the interests of existing companies, the investor added.
The participants in the meeting pleaded for a committee to study the losses the companies would suffer following the total Saudization of the sector. They argue that if the order is implemented in a phased manner, say in five years, the companies will get sufficient time to readjust to new situation and minimize their losses.
Meanwhile, Communication Minister Nasser Al-Salloum said on Thursday that the modalities of implementing the crown prince’s order would be announced next week, according to Al-Madinah. The ministries of communication and labor and social affairs will work in conjunction with the Ministry of Interior to hammer out the mechanism to facilitate smooth implementation of the order. The Saudization order covers administrators and technicians in addition to drivers working in limousine companies , Al-Salloum said. The minister also clarified that salaries for Saudi workers cannot be the same as those paid to expatriate drivers as Saudi citizens’ financial obligations greatly differed from others.
