Saudi labour minister Ghazi Al-Gosaibi said his ministry would not allow private sector companies to lay off Saudi employees on the pretext of global recession and at the same time retain foreign workers. Al-Gosaibi warned some private companies against using the financial crisis as a pretext to get rid of Saudi employees, saying they would be dealt with sternly to protect the interests of citizens. Al-Gosaibi hoped that the companies would not force the ministry to adopt deterrent actions against them, while requesting the cooperation of all parties to protect their interests. The ministry has taken a series of measures to create job opportunities for Saudis. “The unemployment rate has fallen from 8 per cent to 6 per cent among Saudi men and from 26.6 per cent to 24.9 per cent among Saudi women,” the minister said. The number of unemployed Saudis fell from 454,000 to 400,000 (236,000 men and 164,000 women), representing 9.8 per cent of the total Saudi work force.
DO NOT LAY OFF LOCALS
Saudi labour minister Ghazi Al-Gosaibi said his ministry would not allow private sector companies to lay off Saudi employees on the pretext of global recession and at the same time retain foreign workers. Al-Gosaibi warned some private companies against using the financial crisis as a pretext to get rid of Saudi employees, saying they would…
