It was inevitable that Monday turned out to be a mess for both expats rushing to legalize their status and for Saudis trying to keep their businesses open without enough manpower.
Blame, however, should be shared by just about everybody. The expats who cut immigration corners to find work knowing full well the day would come that they would have to pay the piper, and the Saudi government that turned a blind eye to the shenanigans of the illegal workers and their Saudi employers. The grace period that ended last Sunday was a generous gesture from Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah. It gave many people enough time to conduct their business and correct their status. Many people thought the government would never follow through with its threats to expel illegal workers from the country and implement more stringent regulations.
The prevailing wisdom was that the Labor Ministry neither had the manpower nor the will to get the job done. Well, it looks as though those threats have turned into promises. By most accounts, an estimated 5,000 illegal expats were arrested on Monday. And judging from the number of passport officers on the streets, along with the traffic police, I’d say the government was pretty serious this time around to put an end, or at least mitigate, the number of undocumented workers in the Kingdom. Ultimately, this will lead to more transparency among business owners about who they hire.
The crackdown by the Labor and Interior ministries has brought to the surface many issues. The government’s program has highlighted how expats are abused and taken advantage of because they don’t have the proper visas. Because these workers cannot go through proper channels they are denied their rights, such as having access to health care and giving their children an education. The treatment of undocumented workers is criminal. No individuals should be denied the right to health care and an education. We are not a poor country. Having said that, we have lived with many expatriates hiding behind Saudi names and investing vast sums of money in different business sectors. Saudi Arabia should consider itself a land of opportunity for foreigners who want to invest in local business, but the only way to make it work is to go through proper channels and pay at least some fees to keep such businesses transparent. The government needs to know where the money is coming from and where it is going. The fees should benefit Saudis with job training. Saudis need to consider that they owe a debt of gratitude to expats for educating their children, taking care of them in the home and attending to their health needs in hospitals and clinics.
Yet those same expats cause damage to the country that provides them with well-paying jobs by having their families arrive through Umrah or Haj visas and then overstay. Overstayers may find work, but they face exploitation by unscrupulous employers and often become a burden to Saudi society. I hope that Monday marked a new beginning for the relationship between expats and Saudis. Expats must correct situation and become legal to take advantage of the legal opportunities available to them.
The bottom line of all this is that Saudis must manage the future by themselves. Saudi Arabia belongs to Saudis and Saudis must serve their country. Saudi business owners must be less stingy with their money. Many Saudis should be willing, if not be eager, to accept a minimum wage, say at SR4,000, to work. Saudis must get their hands dirty and should take up jobs that were once so distasteful to consider. There is no shame in working, but only pride.
But to accomplish that, the Saudi government needs to stop being lazy. It must implement tougher regulations, including a minimum wage, that will keep businesses in line, and offer wider employment and training opportunities. It’s one thing to get rid of the country’s illegal workers, but it’s quite another to make sure that Saudis are ready to fill the shoes left by expats.
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