Saudi Arabia Relaxes Restrictions On Foreign Workers.

Saudi Arabia relaxes restrictions on foreign workers.

Saudi Arabia will remove several controversial restrictions on foreign workers in a labor policy overhaul that officials hope will attract overseas talent and reduce citizen unemployment.

 Saudi Arabia Relaxes Restrictions On Foreign Workers.-TeluguStop.com

Non-Saudis will no longer need their employer’s permission to change jobs, travel abroad or leave the country permanently, according to Sattam Alharbi, a deputy minister at the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development.

“Runaway” reports that employers can file against foreign workers who stop showing up to their jobs — effectively rendering them fugitives — will be abolished and replaced with a procedure for ending their contract, Alharbi said in an interview Wednesday.

The new rules will come into effect on March 14 and apply to all foreign workers in the private sector, regardless of salary, he said.

The changes could have a dramatic impact on Saudi Arabia’s labor market and the lives of the 10.5 million foreign workers who make up about a third of the kingdom’s population.The current “kafala” or “sponsorship” system — used for expatriates in Gulf Arab countries for decades — has been criticized by human rights groups as a form of indentured servitude.Economists say it also entrenches a practice of companies hiring cheaper and more easily-exploitable foreign workers, even as Saudi unemployment rises.

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