Mixed reaction to expat retirement

Reactions to the Ministry of Labor’s latest plan to force expatriate workers to retire at 60 are varied. While some human resources experts told Arab News that it is a move in the right direction, there are others who believe the retirement age for foreign workers should be even lower. Yet others think that there should be a minimum age for recruitment so that a worker acquires expertise in his job before coming to the Kingdom.
Chairman of the Human Resources Committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) Sameer Hussain characterized the Ministry of Labor’s decision on expatriate workers’ retirement age as fair.
“There should be equality between Saudi workers and expatriate workers in the matter of retirement age. While it is mandatory for a Saudi to retire at the age of 60, it is unfair to allow a non-Saudi worker to continue to work beyond that age for many more years,” Hussain said.
With regard to exemptions to this regulation, however, Hussain said: “If a company wants to keep an expatriate with valuable expertise in a field, he could be retained for one or two years after 60 and on the condition that he train young Saudi workers on the job so that they can become experts.”
He also demanded that the levy for retaining such expatriate workers should be more than SR 2,400.
He added that as an expert in human resources issues it was his duty to point out the need for not permitting private companies to extend the stay of expatriate workers beyond the age of 60, which would, in turn, mean depriving local youths of their right to job.
A member of the Human Resources Committee at JCCI, Ihab Abu Rakbah, went even further and demanded the ministry mandate the age of retirement of an expatriate worker at 50 or 55 years.
He also wanted the age of a worker’s entry into the Kingdom be fixed at a much higher age.
Ali Al-Harbi, a placement expert and CEO of a private company, stressed the significance of putting Saudi youth in key positions currently held by expatriates as an effective implementation of the Saudization process.
“The ministry should look at the type of job to which an unemployed Saudi is to be appointed. A Saudi should not be asked to take up inferior jobs, which do not match the economic status of his country in the world,” Al-Harbi said.
He added that 95 percent of expatriates are working for a salary ranging between SR 1,500 and SR 2,000. This is not the type of jobs Saudis should perform.
“But there are some other expatriates who draw salaries as high as SR 200,000 with perks such as free housing, flight tickets and free education for their children. In fact it is the Saudis who deserve such positions more than any expatriate,” he said.
He is also not satisfied with the achievements of the Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF) in developing Saudi youth for high paying jobs. “They (HRDF) don’t know the meaning of nationalizing the jobs or the significance of making Saudis qualified for the job market,” Al-Harbi said.
He blamed educational institutions in the country for not producing graduates who are qualified to assume challenging jobs. He said the educational system has failed to create a work culture and to provide proper career guidance, leading to unemployment in the country.
Career guidance should be provided to students and other useful concepts taught at secondary schools, he said.
He is also against setting an age limit for retirement for expatriates. “On the other hand, an expatriate should be appointed only if he meets some specific standards to be eligible for the type of work he has to take up,” he said.
He also thought that employers did not care for the welfare of Saudi youth.