Saudization

Saudization Saeed Haider, Gulf Bureau —

DAMMAM, 20 April 2003 — The recent announcement that the government is to Saudize jobs in another 21 job sectors reflects its concern over the increasing unemployment rate in Saudi Arabia. In the past two years, drastic measures have been taken to replace expatriates with unemployed Saudis. Unofficial sources say that unemployment is approaching 25 percent, higher than the official estimate of around 11 percent. If one goes by law of averages, then a safe bet would be around 18 percent. This figure will certainly not allow the planners to remain complacent. Every year after the announcement of the annual economic report, a new Saudization plan is announced to provide more jobs to Saudis and reduce the expatriate ratio in both the public and private sectors. It is heartening to note that the focus of Saudization has shifted from top grade positions to low level jobs. This change in focus reflects government’s decision to go for Saudization at grass roots level. In the early 1980s when the government embarked on a plan to Saudize the manpower sector, the planners focused on top and middle management. This approach not only affected productivity, but also the overall performance of such companies and establishments. With a determination to Saudize jobs at the grass roots level, the authorities started identifying sectors that could be completely Saudized. Once again, confusion started to creep in. One fine morning it was decided that the entire fruit and vegetable trade should be Saudized, and the next moment there were raids on fruit and vegetable stalls across the country. If any expatriate was found staffing the shop, he was arrested and the shop was closed down. This drastic measure led to complete confusion in the trade, which subsequently reported huge financial losses. One reason for such a drastic measure was that many expatriates, mainly Bangladeshis, owned the fruit and vegetable shops, which the government decrees is illegal. Things would have been more realistic had the government allowed expats to work in the shops and thus avoid the need to deceive the authorities. The raids on shops led to a very interesting scenario. In the day time the shops were manned by Saudis only because there were fears of raids; in the evening expats were back at the stall, assuming that there would not be any raid late in the day. But today even during the day time expats are working at vegetable shops and things are back to square one. Recently, the government announced that all the gold jewelry shops should employ only Saudis. For a few days everyone followed the rule but now expats are back in the shops again. At many shops in Dammam and Alkhobar, expat workers stand outside the shop and when a customer enters it they accompany him inside. Once the transaction is complete, they leave the premises with the customer. Last year it was announced that Saudis would replace all expat taxi drivers within six months. Later that decision was deferred and a certain percentage was to be Saudized. What was not taken into consideration was that, economically and socially, complete Saudization was not feasible unless the entire limo industry was reformed. One has to accept the fact that if not today then tomorrow this country has to be run only by Saudis. That said, it is imperative that the manpower sector should be Saudized in a more realistic way. It has to be done gradually, and thoroughly. There is no magical wand that will change the scenario overnight.