The report says that there is no proper mechanism to implement Saudization in different sectors.
“Some private companies and establishments employ fraudulent means with regard to Saudization, and this reflects in the sharp contradiction in the percentage of Saudization and the actual needs of the private sector,” it points out.
Currently the retail services sector does not have a Saudization quota like other job sectors. Labor Minister Adel Fakieh recently said he has made boosting Saudi participation in the retail sales sector a priority. The challenge in this sector is unique as it is filled almost completely with foreign workers earning non-competitive salaries who cannot easily switch jobs legally.
A typical foreign service sector worker's low wage, long hours and (in many cases) sub-standard living conditions make jobs in this sector difficult to fill with citizens. The negative stigma of the service industry also dissuades Saudis from taking these jobs. It is more common than in the past to see young Saudi men working checkout lanes of grocery stores or behind the counter at Starbucks, but the Labor Ministry recognizes there is much to be done.
Job sectors that have specific Saudization quotas that require employers to hire citizens face similar problems, but those jobs tend to require more skills and degrees or professional certifications, and subsequently pay higher wages that makes them more appealing to Saudi nationals.
Muhammad Suleiman Al-Dowaish, former director of legal affairs at the Ministry of Labor, said the present system of Saudization is to be blamed mainly for the absence of Saudis in retail shops and automobile service stations.
According to Al-Dowaish, there has been a steady increase in the percentage of Saudization in some sectors. “On the contrary, the number of Saudis working in some other sectors is very low. This contributes substantially to the growing number of jobless young Saudis in the Kingdom. Saudization in this sector has been restricted mainly to security guards and the fruit and vegetable stalls in local vegetable markets,” he said.
But even in the vegetable market, the Saudis that own the stalls hire foreign workers to run them, which is technically illegal.
Al-Dowaish said the best way to ensure engagement of Saudis in these sectors should be through formulating government-funded programs such as providing soft loans to own and operate grocery stores, shops for plumbing and electrical appliances, automobile service and maintenance shops and such other sectors where there is an overwhelming presence of foreigners at present. “Such programs would do a lot in addressing unemployment problem as well as bringing down the heavy reliance on foreign workers. These programs that enable young Saudis to own commercial showrooms and outlets would lure a large number of them to turn into this thriving business and earn profits rather than taking up ordinary jobs having meager salaries,” he noted.
Al-Dowaish called for taking urgent steps to work out a national strategy for Saudization.
On his part, Fahd Al-Otaibi, an expert in employment affairs, stressed the need for drawing lessons from successful experiments made in this regard.
Al-Otaibi noted that attractive pay and other allowances, including housing, transportation and health care, would compel the employees to continue working under any circumstances. He drew attention to the fact that the low salary and deprivation of allowances are a major factor for the apathy of Saudis to take up jobs in some sectors.
Salem bin Muhammad, a Saudi unemployed young man, disputed the claim about Saudization of the vegetable wholesale sector. “Even though young Saudis came forward to replace foreigners in this sector, they have not been given adequate support by the authorities,” he said, while noting the presence of a large number of foreigners, especially Asians, still in this sector.
“It is also impossible for us to work for a salary of SR1,500 in sectors such as insurance. Similar was the case with the work at sales outlets of plumbing and electrical appliances.”
Abdullah Salem, another jobless young man, noted that there are several foreigners drawing higher salaries at some administrative posts while Saudis were denied similar jobs even though they are qualified and ready to take up such jobs.
