Several organizations which are in violation of labor regulations are reluctant to fire Saudi employees for fear of stirring up trouble with the labor office.

These employers are faced with a lose-lose scenario since many of these workers, who are guilty of poor productivity, have threatened to report their violations if they fire them.

As such, many postpone dismissals indefinitely since they cannot risk kicking up the dust, while continuing to suffer with bad performance.

“Violators always find ways of hiding from inspectors,” Fadel Abu Al-Ainain, an adviser to several private firms, told Arab News.

“Other employers, however, can dismiss lazy workers since they have abided by the rules.”

“The private sector has no choice but to hire Saudis,” said Abdul Rahman Al-Ghamdi, general director of a private firm in Jeddah.

“Citizens are supported by labor laws. As such, it is hard to dismiss citizens. Private firms must, therefore, immunize themselves by ensuring they are adhering to the nationalization quotas to be able to take action against lax workers.” More than 1,200 male and female labor inspectors recently raided many private companies, markets and public places across the Kingdom to check on illegal workers and Saudis harboring them.

“Employers who don’t want to follow the rules are, simply, stuck with bad workers,” Adel Maqboul, a Saudi businessman, told Arab News.

Violators face fines of up to SR100,000 and two years in prison or both if offenses are repeated.

Foreigners working in organizations not sponsoring them are also considered violators. So are establishments employing foreigners not on their sponsorship.