RIYADH — The General Directorate of Passports (Jawazat) warned on Monday that those who hire or give shelter to runaway housemaids will be penalized with up to six months in prison and a maximum fine of SR100,000, and deportation in case of expatriates. The fines will be doubled with the number of illegal domestic workers involved in the violation. The directorate said that the penalty will also be imposed on all those involved in extending any help to illegal residents in the form of giving them job, shelter, transportation, cover up and so on. Those firms, which involve in such illegal acts, will also have to face punitive measures, including fine amounting to SR100,000, five-year recruitment ban, naming and shaming of the institution, and six year jail for the firm's manager with deportation if he is an expatriate, the Saudi Press Agency reported. The Jawazat urged citizens and expatriates to inform about illegal residents so as to avoid facing penal actions. Employers can report the flight of workers to the ministry through Abshir or contacting on phone (No. 989). In a related development, the Ministry of Labor and Social Development warned that those who fail in implementing Saudization regulation in mobile phone sales and maintenance shops will be fined SR20,000 for employing each foreign worker. Khaled Abal Khail, spokesman at the ministry, issued the warning as the deadline for implementing 50 percent Saudization in mobile shops ends within a week. "There won't be any leniency in taking stringent punitive measures against those violating the regulations from Ramadan 1 (June 6)," he said. Abal Khail urged all mobile shop owners to strictly implement the Saudization directive, issued by Minister of Labor Mufarrej Al-Haqabani. He issued orders for the total Saudization of all sales outlets and maintenance shops of mobile phones and their accessories before Sept. 3 (Dhul Hijjah 1). All mobile sales and maintenance shops have to replace 50 percent of workers with Saudi men and women beginning from Ramadan 1. The spokesman urged citizens to inform the authorities about any violations through uniform customer service number 19911 or sending messages to the link https://rasd.ma3an.gov.sa.
