The Ministry of Labor is intensifying efforts to apprehend job violators in the Kingdom through inspections based on studies and strategic planning which focus on retail trade and construction. The inspections are being carried out in major retail markets across the Kingdom and are concentrated in Jeddah, Riyadh and Buraidah in particular.

The Makkah region topped the list of violations in the Kingdom. According to a ministry’s report a total of 22 percent of violations were registered in the Makkah region followed by Riyadh with 20 percent and Qassim with 17 percent. The Eastern Province, considered the industrial center of the Kingdom, came fourth with 16 percent.

The Labor Ministry announced recently that it had conducted 20,703 field visits in the month of Muharram alone and said that it had blocked the operations of 2,825 establishments in the same month for violating regulations.

The Corniche Commercial Center located in Balad in Jeddah has witnessed several inspections by the Labor Ministry, an Indian salesman working in a leading electronic shop in the market told Arab News. He said that his shop was checked twice by Ministry of Labor officials to verify the job status of the expatriate employees.

A Bangladeshi expatriate specializing in electronics also said that the ministry of labor checked his profession on his Iqama. Sources said that one of the giant construction companies that have branches in King Fahad Street in Sharafiah district were also inspected.

While these inspections were carried out without security personnel, the Labor Ministry in Jeddah is drawing out a strategy to conduct inspections with the coordination of the police. Maj. Gen. Abdullah Mohammed Qaitani and Abdul Monem Shaheri met here yesterday to discuss the mechanism of the inspections.

It is worthy of mention that only 4 percent of expatriates transferred their sponsorships in the Qassim region while the rest do not work for their original sponsors.

The Labor Ministry said that a large proportion of the violations had to do with expatriates working for other sponsors.

“We will gradually step up our inspection campaigns after proper verification of violations,” said Dr. Abdullah Abu Thunain, deputy minister responsible for inspections affairs.