Saudi businessmen unable to correct status of expat staff Several business owners have claimed that they are unable to correct the status of their employees due to the crowds at government departments involved in the rectification process. “We are quite sure that the correction of the labor market will be of benefit to us all, but what makes it difficult is the short deadline to do so,” said Rayid Al-Oqaili, a member of the contractors committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI). He said it is quite a challenge to rectify in two months the labor market practices that have been continuing for the last 30 years. Al-Oqaili said that some important projects might be stopped or will face obstacles due to the absence of workers. He said that middlemen who earlier cooperated with different companies to correct the status of their employees are not willing to assist them now. “We have not finished even 15% of status rectification during this amnesty period,” said Al-Oqaili. Fahad Al-Wajih, an investor in the bakery sector, said that they have fired employees who were not working under their sponsorship. “We were not able to correct the status of any of our employees. The passport department is very crowded and the time is too short,” he added. Al-Wajih fears that his sector might not be able to meet the high demand during Ramadan and Haj seasons. He feels that all sectors have been affected by the decision and the only way to solve it is to have a labor company that can provide workers for different jobs. There are 1,200 bakeries in Makkah region. Some 30 bakeries have closed down while 130 are under threat of closure if they fail to correct the status of their employees, said Faiz Hamada, the head of the bakery committee at the JCCI. Darweesh Al-Khadra, an investor in the catering sector, had the same complaint as that of other businessmen. “The correction process actually started only a month after the announcement of the amnesty,” said Al-Khadra, adding, “We have submitted a number of correction requests and they have not yet been considered.
Posted on: Wed, 19 Jun 2013 06:01:59 +0000
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