By IANS
Dubai : Saudi Arabia will reduce job quotas for its nationals in certain sectors from 30 to 20 percent.
The country’s Deputy Minister of Labour Abdulwahed Al-Humaid said the decision was taken to fulfil labour market demands, according to the Arab News newspaper.
The decision, which was taken Feb 11, covers industries like foodstuffs, beverages, textiles, readymade garments, shoes, furniture and paper.
However, the new rule also decrees that the quota of Saudi nationals in these industries does not fall below 15 percent in the first two years of operation or three years from the date of licensing of the factory.
The newspaper also quoted a factory manager as saying that he has never been able to surpass 24 percent Saudization.
“Saudization is a national demand, I agree, but dealing with unqualified Saudi labour in a downstream industrial project can be costly,” he said.
There are around 1.5 million expatriate Indians in Saudi Arabia.