The Saudi public has immense confidence in the capabilities of the Labor Ministry presently being run by the great poet and man of letters, Dr. Ghazi Abdul Rahman Al-Gosaibi, and his assistant, Dr. Abdul Wahid Al-Humaid. The ministry functions in a scientific and practical way, taking full cognizance of the public’s requirements and problems. It never forces arbitrary decisions on them as decisions are made only after careful study and consideration. Moreover, the ministry is willing to reconsider any of its decisions if evidence points to error. This is of course no more than the public is entitled to expect from any ministry.
The seasoned experts and experienced academics working for the ministry never make recommendations or decisions sitting in an ivory tower. They are among the people and listen directly to their views. The ministry’s omnipresent dilemma is to develop policies that will find employment for the ever-growing number of our unemployed without jeopardizing the growth of the national economy. On the other hand, the heads of businesses in the agricultural, industrial, construction and service sectors are not content with the incompetent young men and women produced by our educational and vocational institutions. The problem is thus aggravated while the youth complain about the miseries of unemployment and the managers of factories, companies and farms grumble about the tyrannical way in which the ministry issues visas for the recruitment of foreign labor. The ministry of course tries to please both sides.
While the unemployed youth clamor for jobs and a dignified position in society, companies insist that Saudization should not be imposed on them. The ministry has so far withstood pressure from both sides and has been making a detailed study of the issues from various perspectives with an aim of solving the problem in a way acceptable to all. Though it has not been successful in satisfying all, it has made some remarkable achievements.
Employers and common people, on the other hand, feel that they have been treated unfairly and harshly by the ministry with its uncompromising stance in the matter of visas for foreign workers. They complain that their sectors have been seriously affected because they lack skilled workers. Matters have reached the point at which a farmer reportedly offered his 40,000-palm date farm to the ministry and asked them to use Saudi workers to run it. He did so because he could not get visas for foreigners who will work outside in the cold as well as the heat. The farmer is not a rare case; there are undoubtedly thousands more, suffering similar difficulties in other fields. The ministry will surely pay close attention to this problem and study it with care.
Our highly intellectual labor minister is a man who likes to succeed. I believe that this problem is uppermost in his mind. A number of factories, farms, companies and restaurants have been virtually paralyzed because of the lack of positive response on their applications for labor visa. The consequences will surely be highly damaging to both the national economy and to society. The ministry is well aware that there are certain jobs that Saudi young people do not want to do. The ministry should take steps to get foreign workers in those jobs until or when Saudis willingly take them.
