Saudi Arabia rules out minimum wage sees move as counterproductive  

(MENAFN - Arab News) Labor Minister Ghazi Al-Gosaibi yesterday made a series of comments pertaining to Saudi unemployment, including the rejection of the idea of a minimum wage standard and an announcement of the implementation of a new system for employing Saudis.

He said the ministry is aware that many companies are flaunting rules pertaining to Saudization, the national policy that requires companies to reserve a portion of jobs for Saudi citizens.

"There are thousands of major companies that are not abiding by the Saudization requirements and we are going to be serious now about this issue," the minister said, adding that the ministry receives cases every day of companies claiming falsely to have Saudi employees. "One company was caught with more than 170 files of fake Saudi employees."

Al-Gosaibi made his comments during a tour yesterday of Bait Assawadah Company, which aims at providing jobs for Saudi citizens after taking applicants through testing and training to determine their qualifications and abilities.

Al-Gosaibi rejected the idea of a minimum wage, claiming that experts have said that setting a minimum wage leads to more unemployment.

"I feel ashamed that there are 270,000 unemployed Saudi job seekers in a country that employs more than seven million foreigners," he said.

The minister said the global financial crisis would not affect jobs, considering the large number of development projects currently under way in the Kingdom.

Addressing undocumented foreign labor, Al-Gosaibi urged long-time residents who are undocumented, especially those from Africa and Burma, to come forward in order to legalize their stay in the country.

"Their situation can be corrected if they want," he said. "But they seem to be afraid of deportation."

At one point during his address, a Saudi man who appeared to be in mid-40s approached the labor minister asking the minister for a job. The man said he lost a lot of money in the stock market and has been unable to find work. "I'll do my best to get you a job," said Al-Gosaibi.

"But promise me you won't invest in the stock market again," the minister joked.