JEDDAH — Ebsar Foundation has suspended its program for employment and training of visually impaired people in the private sector because many companies have failed to employ them. The foundation said that on June 21 this year it received termination letters for more than 52 visually impaired employees. These were among 80 people with visual impairment who were nominated by the foundation to work in Binladin Group as per the foundation's program to encourage the employment of people with visual impairment. The people with visual impairment refused to receive the termination letters from the foundation, saying they were angry at the humiliating way their services were terminated. They were informed by Saudi Post employees who read out the notice addressed to them. Muhammad Tawfiq Bello, secretary general of Ebsar Foundation and member of Tawafuq Program, said he sent a proposal to the Minister of Labor and chairman of Tawafuq Program to suspend for an experimental period of three years the system of counting each disabled person as four Saudis in the Saudization percentage. He said many private sector companies that are in need of raising their Saudization percentage exploit the needy disabled people by signing contracts with them so as to achieve the required Saudization percentage without assigning them any work.
