The Ministry of Labor should launch a month-long awareness campaign and give expatriates and employers extra time to get residency documentation in order, said a local recruitment expert.

Ali Al-Harbi said he supported raids to uncover illegal workers, but opposed campaigns against those with valid residency permits.

He said over 5,000 workers have already been caught for not having the proper papers, but said the situation has to be corrected to prevent a disruption of various development projects.

Al-Harbi said the Ministry of Labor and other competent authorities are supposed to conduct awareness campaigns for a period not less than one month to educate employers and foreign workers about local labor law changes. They are also required to ask them to correct their status within certain deadlines before raids are launched.

He added that foreigners have the right to understand what Saudi Arabia plans to do. He said that many people have been prematurely arrested and their residency cards destroyed. He said these foreign employees may have been working with the permission of their sponsors in another industry, or waiting for their new residency permits. He urged sponsors to correct the status of their employees within a month after the awareness campaigns end.

Al-Harbi said he supported the raids against foreign violators from Yemen and Ethiopia. He said the Ministry of Labor's measures are only temporary solutions, and it must have a long-term strategy to deal with the issue of illegal workers in the country.

Al-Harbi said the companies that have been raided included major construction firms responsible for government projects, and mobile, air conditioning and refrigeration shops.

Recently a female worker at a hospital confirmed that the facility was raided by officials of the Ministry of Labor a few days ago. Workers have been told to stay away from work for about a week. She said three other private hospitals were also raided.