A Najran businessman said his company and most others in the area are in the Nitaqat System's Red Zone and that Saudis prefer government jobs, even if they pay less than the private sector. This prefeence is out of the belief that the public sector jobs are more stable. The businessman shared his thoughts during a Ministry of Commerce meeting with businessmen at Najran Chamber of Commerce and Industry to discuss the Nitaqat System with Othman Saleh Al-Huqail, Assistant Undersecretary for Development, according to a report in Al-Watan Arabic newspaper. Similar meetings were convened at Saudi chambers in different parts of the country and businessmen were briefed on the salient features of the Nitaqat System. “We appreciate all expatriate laborers in the Kingdom and they deserve the billions they are transferring to their countries because there are difficult jobs Saudis cannot do,” one businessman said. The Nitaqat System, which assesses nationalization rates, comes as a natural response to increasing unemployment rates in Saudi Arabia, which stands at 15 percent, Al-Huqail said during the meeting. More than two million people have thus far registered in the national Hafiz Employment Program, he said. The Kingdom hosts six million expatriates working in various professions, he added. Al-Huqail said the Ministry of Commerce has carried out 70 to 80 workshops to study, analyze and address problems with private sector employment. The basic idea of the Nitaqat System is that the extent of government services and benefits given to establishments is based on their position in it, which relates to the percentage of Saudis the businesses employ. To get the benefits, establishments must examine their data and correct mistakes, Al-Huqail stressed. “One of the most important issues is that an establishment must register its Saudi employees at the Social Insurance, make sure the information at the Ministry of Interior about its expatriate employees is accurate and alos to ensure that the foreign recruitment number at the ministries of Labor and Interior, and the Social Insurance is the same.
