Deputy Minister of Labor Mufarrej Al-Haqbani said recently that the campaign to correct the labor and residency status of expatriates has nearly come to a close. He also reiterated that the ministry has no intention of extending the amnesty period after its expiry on Nov. 3 (Dhul Hijja 29). Al-Haqbani urged all private firms and individual sponsors as well as expatriate workers to hurry to rectify their status by taking advantage of the amnesty period. “Punitive measures against the violators include deportation and a ban on reentry for expatriates, and imprisonment and fines for Saudi employers, whether they are individuals or firms,” he said. Al-Haqbani also clarified that the exemptions and conditions, which are specially designed for the grace period, will not be in force after the expiry of the period. Intensive inspection raids will be carried out across the Kingdom to capture violators and punish them immediately after the end of the grace period and this will be in cooperation with the Ministry of Interior and the regional governorates, he added. Anyone who read the deputy minister’s statement would have the impression that the correction process was going on in a smooth and effortless manner and that those expatriates who want to correct their status as well as their Saudi employers are not facing any difficulties in accomplishing the task. This, however, is totally untrue. Most Saudi employers are facing serious difficulties in rectifying the status of their workers. I don’t know whether the deputy minister noticed a report, titled “Thriving black market in the last days of amnesty and SR2,000 for a token number,” published by Okaz newspaper on Oct. 26. The report was written by reporter Adel Abdurahman after holding interviews with a number of people who frequently go to the Passport and Labor offices in the early hours of the day. Some of them reach there in the morning while others arrive before sunrise. These people stand in long queues for hours under the scorching sun simply to get a token. Then, they sell these tokens in the black market to those who do not want to stand in queues. They sell tokens for rates ranging between SR500 and SR2,000 and the cost is much higher for tokens allowing one to meet an official without waiting. Those who engage in this thriving business include not only Saudis but also expatriates. Fahd Al-Maliki, a Saudi, said that he went to the Passport office in Abruq Al-Rughama to report the case of a runaway housemaid. When he saw a huge crowd, he went out searching for a facilitator (muaqib). The muaqib asked him for SR4,000 for helping him to get things done. Aiman Al-Zahrani, another citizen, said he was forced to pay SR7,000 to the office of a muaqib in order to correct the status of two expatriate workers. He urged the authorities in charge of inspection raids to stop the facilitators from exploiting people. However, Mazen Al-Harbi, a muaqib, feels that the charges demanded by facilitators for their work are reasonable because they have to sort out several problems due to the lack of clarity in certain regulations. He also complained that there are some new facilitators who have entered the market to cash in on the huge demand from expatriates to rectify their labor and residency status by taking advantage of the amnesty period. While drawing attention to the fact that these muaqibs are using crooked ways, he demanded that the authorities intervene to stop such practices. In another report, prepared by Nidal Qahtan, the same newspaper carried comments from a number of people who gathered at Abruq Al-Rughama Passport Department. Ali Al-Amri, one of those waiting there, said that he was tired and exhausted after waiting long hours in the queue under high temperatures since early morning. He was frustrated because he had failed to get a token after waiting until the end of the working day. Yousuf Al-Maihami, another citizen, said that he has visited the Passport office frequently over the last two months but has managed to get only very little service. He went to the office on a daily basis to rectify the status of some of his expatriate workers. Al-Maihami attributed the problem mainly to the insufficient number of staff and the huge number of customers. Describing his ordeal, Ahmad Al-Amri told the newspaper that when he approached the Passport office at Abruq Al-Rughama in the morning, he was asked to go to the central Passport office in Kandara. “When I arrived at Kandara, I was told to go back to Abruq Al-Rughama, and this upset me because it was a complete waste of my time.” Echoing the same view, Bassem Yemani said that people face many difficulties in getting a token number. “The inadequate number of staff has turned the situation from bad to worse, resulting in slow and poor performance.” These are simply some examples of the difficulties faced by Saudis when they approach Passport offices to have correction procedures done, and this is not to speak of the hardship suffered by expatriates. I have received several e-mail messages from expatriates outlining the difficulties that they face. In the messages, they have asked me to help them find a solution to their problems. However, despite all my understanding of the problems involved and the empathy that I feel for these brothers, I can do nothing other than write about these problems and demand that the concerned authorities find a solution. The Passport authorities have to open their doors to receive the petitions of the people who are approaching them. They need to find solutions for the problems and monitor the functioning of their subordinate staff. I also request that the deputy minister ensure that an appropriate environment has been created for the rectifying of the status of expatriates before issuing threats about starting inspection raids and taking penal action against violators. What I have heard from people and read from reports carried by local newspapers shows that there are hundreds of thousands of expatriates who want to rectify their status but are stymied by the intransigence and greed of their sponsors coupled with bureaucratic bottlenecks which exist in parts of the ministry. The inefficiency of the Labor offices and the slow pace in the rectifying of status have contributed substantially to further complicating the procedures for expatriates to get things done by themselves. This would force them to depend on muaqibs who demand exorbitant fees for their services. It would, therefore, be a wise, just and fair step if there was an extension of the amnesty period as the remaining days are not sufficient to rectify the status of all unregulated expatriates. I am convinced that if the Ministry of Labor approaches the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah with a request for a further extension of the grace period, the King will approve an extension.
Posted on: Wed, 30 Oct 2013 19:45:05 +0000
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