Tension is mounting between the Ministry of Labor and the private sector over how Saudization can best be achieved.
While the ministry keeps threatening private businesses with stiff penalties for failure to employ more Saudis, companies on their part argue that the ministry’s way of doing things is not the right one and has to be revised.
At first sight, it may appear as if a war is raging between the two sides, with the ministry issuing warnings and threats and the private sector replying by defending its policy and citing the reasons it says are preventing it from fulfilling the ministry’s demands.
Although the number of Saudis employed in the private sector is on the rise, the overall percentage stands at 13 percent of the total workforce. Saudis now number 535,904 out of a total workforce of 3,817,038 in the private sector. The percentage tends to increase slightly in those private businesses employing more than 20 workers, where it reaches 16 percent.
It is true that all those involved in the Saudization process hail from the same country and are all working for the national interest; but it is equally true that they have different interests and may not necessary see eye to eye on how this should be done. The ministry wants Saudis to have work, while the private sector wants to ensure that their investments and profits are unaffected in the process. In the end, a businessman’s main concern is to make profit, something they may not be ready to compromise on.
Among the justifications cited by the private sector for not employing young Saudis is that they lack the qualifications and skills sought by the market, they are undisciplined, and lack self-confidence. This, they say, is why Saudis keep jumping from one job to another, and above all, they are troublemakers and lack the proper knowledge of how to deal with customers.
What the ministry should do is start studying all these complaints and work with private companies to find solutions instead of resorting to a tactic of threats and penalties. Such methods may work temporarily, but in the end it is through conviction and mutual consent that results are achieved.
We should start asking ourselves difficult questions and sit down to solve them. Why should Saudi businessmen prefer foreigners to their countrymen? What is it that distinguishes the expatriate worker? What is it that makes Saudis resort to cover-ups and fraudulent tactics to keep their business running with the help of foreigners? How did the foreigners gain this trust and achieve such status in the first place? Let us initiate an earnest and frank debate instead of trading blame and accusations.
- Arab News From the Local Press 31 July 2003
