Expat-friendly decision hailed

Saudi businesses have welcomed the Labor Ministry’s decision to postpone the implementation of a draft proposal that aims to restrict the stay of foreign workers to seven years and discourage them from bringing their families to the Kingdom. “We have postponed the implementation of this draft decision and other draft resolutions in order to conduct further studies on them in coordination with businesses and the Council of Saudi Chambers,” said Ahmed Al-Humaidan, deputy minister for labor policies. Abdul Rahman Al-Zamil, president of the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said: “I would like to thank the Labor Ministry for taking this important decision.” Speaking with Arab News, he said businessmen and chambers had unanimously opposed the proposal, saying it would destroy what the Kingdom has achieved. “The officials made this proposal without considering the reality on the ground and the requirements of businesses,” Al-Zamil said, adding that the proposal would have had a negative impact on foreign investment. He said the proposal to discourage expats from bringing their families went against the Kingdom’s values and traditions. “How can we ask our employees who have worked here for several years to send their families back home,” Al-Zamil, chairman of Zamil Group, pointed out. “We want this proposal to be canceled instead of its postponement,” he said. The plan would increase prices of goods and services and make the market noncompetitive, he added, urging the ministry’s experts not to play with the destiny of others. The ministry official, however, said further studies on the new decisions would be conducted before the proposal is presented again, considering the views of businesses and experts. Al-Humaidan said the ministry postponed implementation of the expat weightage point proposal in response to observations expressed by businessmen through its website. “We have finalized draft decisions to implement them in the coming months.” Final decisions were related to the aggregate average in Saudization rates, the third phase of organizing women employment at lingerie shops and women working from home. - Arabnews