- Home » Expat News » Higher cost of expat employees forcing Saudi SMEs to employ local labour
Higher cost of expat employees forcing Saudi SMEs to employ local labour
| Published: | 4 Sep at 6 PM |
Want to get involved?
Become a Featured Expat and take our interview.
Become a Local Expert and contribute articles.
Get in touch today!
Become a Local Expert and contribute articles.
Get in touch today!
The high cost to UAE SMEs of employing expatriates is expected to result in a surge of Saudization.
Market analysts are predicting a rise in the rate of Saudization amongst small and medium size enterprises in the UAE as a result of an increasing inability to afford the higher rates of pay common in the expat worker sector. According to a spokesperson for the Saudi Ministry of Labour and Social development, a new strategy will be aimed at achieving a balance between jobseeker numbers and private companies’ current economic situations.
Due to the ever increasing costs of employing foreign workers, it’s expected that around 90 per cent of private sector firms will be forced into employing Saudi labour. Monthly salaries for locals range between SR3,000 and SR5,000 and decision-makers earn from SR10,000 to SR15,000, with positions at this level expected to be filled by Saudi graduates from foreign universities. Some 100,000 Saudi nationals have qualified outside the Kingdom via the King Abdullah Foreign Scholarship Programme.
Head of the human resources department at King Abdulaziz University Dr Khaled al-Maimani believes a lack of confidence between foreign employers and their Saudi employees is the reason why many leave their jobs, saying that an increase in the number of Saudis in top management positions would solve the problem. He is also urging the ministry to adjust its Saudization plan towards focusing on increasing worker efficiency. Unemployment, he says, is expected to fall from its present rate of `2.9 per cent as a direct result of the increasing cost of employing expatriates.
Federation of Labour Unions president Nidal Ridwan believes all jobs are important, adding the Saudization programme is heading in the right direction in spite of moves by certain employers and those running illegal cover-up businesses. In addition, economist Dr Essam Khalifa stressed the need for the employment of Saudis rather than expats at senior managerial levels, saying this will facilitate the employment of Saudi nationals across the private sector.
Market analysts are predicting a rise in the rate of Saudization amongst small and medium size enterprises in the UAE as a result of an increasing inability to afford the higher rates of pay common in the expat worker sector. According to a spokesperson for the Saudi Ministry of Labour and Social development, a new strategy will be aimed at achieving a balance between jobseeker numbers and private companies’ current economic situations.
Due to the ever increasing costs of employing foreign workers, it’s expected that around 90 per cent of private sector firms will be forced into employing Saudi labour. Monthly salaries for locals range between SR3,000 and SR5,000 and decision-makers earn from SR10,000 to SR15,000, with positions at this level expected to be filled by Saudi graduates from foreign universities. Some 100,000 Saudi nationals have qualified outside the Kingdom via the King Abdullah Foreign Scholarship Programme.
Head of the human resources department at King Abdulaziz University Dr Khaled al-Maimani believes a lack of confidence between foreign employers and their Saudi employees is the reason why many leave their jobs, saying that an increase in the number of Saudis in top management positions would solve the problem. He is also urging the ministry to adjust its Saudization plan towards focusing on increasing worker efficiency. Unemployment, he says, is expected to fall from its present rate of `2.9 per cent as a direct result of the increasing cost of employing expatriates.
Federation of Labour Unions president Nidal Ridwan believes all jobs are important, adding the Saudization programme is heading in the right direction in spite of moves by certain employers and those running illegal cover-up businesses. In addition, economist Dr Essam Khalifa stressed the need for the employment of Saudis rather than expats at senior managerial levels, saying this will facilitate the employment of Saudi nationals across the private sector.
Comments » No published comments just yet for this article...
Feel free to have your say on this item. Go on... be the first!
