Saudis Told to Learn New Things, Develop New Habits
In other words, you people need to work for a living!
JEDDAH, 4 June 2004 â Saudi citizens who have grown used to having things easy and taking for granted many privileges have been urged to concentrate on learning new things and developing new habits. The objective is to make the Saudization drive bear fruit and help solve the countryâs serious unemployment problem. Describing unemployment as the âmost serious problem facing the Kingdom,â Labor Minister Dr. Ghazi Al-Gosaibi said fighting it should be a national policy rather than a government concern. He warned that the solution could be painful. Officials have been urging a shift from total dependence on foreign workers and have been calling on citizens to learn to live with new realities and develop new habits. Hard work requires a person to be fully prepared for a job.
Well, so much for that idea. | "Hey guys, I have an idea! Why don't we have the madrassas teach something useful?"
"Shaddup, Mahmoud, and pick up yer Qu'ran and rifle!" | Crown Prince Abdullah has repeatedly said that the days of the boom are over.
Poor choice of words, Prince | Dr. Al-Gosaibi said the time when people expected to be taken care of from cradle to grave has come to an end. Striking a comparison between a Saudi family and the richest man in the world, Bill Gates, the minister said while a Saudi family may employ a large number of domestics, Bill Gates has only a very limited number. No exact figures for unemployment are available, making it hard to tell how many Saudis are jobless, especially women. There are significant variations in the available estimates. The number of unemployed males has been estimated at around 300,000. The Ministry of Labor has requested a detailed study on unemployment among Saudi women.
That shouldn't take long. | Future statistics on employment will have to be more reliable by covering all sectors of the population; the present system which is used by the Ministry of Financeâs Department of Statistics does not include all sectors and segments but only selected ones. Soon after becoming minister a few months ago, Dr. Al-Gosaibi issued a decision banning small businesses from recruiting foreign workers. (According to official figures the Kingdom last year issued 700,000 work visas.) The ministerâs idea was to reduce the number of foreigners entering the Kingdom on work visas after it was discovered that many businesses were being run by bogus offices. A person running a small business would claim to be overseeing several establishments, all carrying the name of the owner which would allow them to apply for hundreds of visas. Regional labor offices say a large number of small businesses are fake and that many of them rent their names complete with everything including the signboard. The minister said such practices were corrupt and promised the effect of the decision banning small businesses from bringing in more foreign workers would bear fruit within a year. The minister said he would seek to meet the businesses halfway on Saudization. He wanted businessmen to treat unemployment as a national issue, saying he would not seek to impose 100 percent Saudization or take away any job from any expatriate as long as their services are needed. Nor would he force on businessmen anything they may not be able to carry out; however, they must make their demands clear, he added.
Posted by: Anonymous4617 2004-06-04 |