The private sector in the Kingdom has employed more Saudis in the past few months than it had in the last 30 years, Labor Minister Adel Faqeih said, adding that employment level of Saudis has gone up by 1.5 percent since the implementation of the new labor laws.
“Saudization has gone up to more than 30 percent,” he said, adding that the nationalization of jobs will continue in local markets till the unemployment rate drops to satisfactory level.
Meanwhile, Bangladeshi Consul General Mohammed Nazmul Islam said 800,000 Bangladeshi workers have rectified their status during the grace period either by transferring sponsorship or correcting their profession.
Another 31,000 Bangladeshi’s have left the Kingdom for good during the amnesty period, he said, adding that there were over 2.6 million Bangladeshi workers in the Kingdom, working mostly in the construction sector.
This comes in the backdrop of Bangladeshi media’s call for diplomatic initiative to take advantage of the job opportunities in Saudi Arabia, which is the largest Bangladeshi labor-importing country.
In 2009, recruitment of workers from Bangladesh almost came to a halt after Saudi authorities stopped granting residency cards to Bangladeshi workers.
Bangladeshi media said that the decision would have a negative impact since Saudi Arabia was the country of destination for a large number of Bangladeshi workers. Since 2009, only 70,575 Bangladeshi workers managed to secure jobs in Saudi Arabia.
The Bangladeshi envoy said there was still a lot of paperwork in process at the passport department that was expected to be completed within the next few days.
“The deportation process is going on at a fast pace now, thanks mainly to the efforts of Saudi authorities, particularly in Shumaisi deportation center which I personally visited and found the services provided there are excellent,” said Nazmul Islam.
The envoy said earlier that Riyadh and Dhaka will soon sign an agreement on recruitment of Bangladeshi labor, indicating that there were positive signs in this regard.
800,000 Bangla expats correct status
