The Ministry of Labor and Social Development announced that it has put in place a new procedure to address expatriates' complaints quickly. Minister of Labor and Social Development Mufrej Al-Haqbani said expatriates with complaints such as delays in salaries can now lodge their complaints and have their problems settled quickly. "The ministry will provide expatriates with legal representatives to present their cases in labor courts. The ministry will defend the rights of expatriates and laborers and will not allow private establishments to get away shirking their responsibilities," said Al-Haqbani. The minister said the labor courts take unbiased decisions and hold private establishments accountable for violations of labor rights. "The labor courts are independent entities and are unbiased in taking decisions, irrespective of nationality. It treats all plaintiffs and defendants equally and issue fair rulings in all cases. The ministry also provides lawyers to follow up with cases such as delays in salaries. Expatriates are not obliged to pay any money for the lawyer," said Al-Haqbani. He also said the ministry is looking into providing more rights for expatriates such as food and health care. "The ministry is also looking into facilitating the return of expatriates to their countries at the expense of the Kingdom. The ministry has also facilitated the transfer of expatriates between private establishments through its online portal," said Al-Haqbani. He said the portal also tracks the visas of the expatriates and their expiration dates so the establishments would know when would the visa of an expatriate they wish to employ expire. "The portal is only available for establishments with the green band and above in the Nitaqat system. Establishments below the green band must work to reach the green band in order to get access to the portal," said Al-Haqbani. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Labor and Social Development is preparing, with the ministries of Interior, Commerce and Industry, Municipal and Rural Affairs and Telecommunication and Information Technology, for the third phase of Saudization of the telecommunication sector. "The third phase for 100 percent Saudization of the telecom sector with start Sept. 2. The Ministry of Labor and Social Development alongside the Human Resources Development Fund, the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation, the General Organization for Social Insurance and the Saudi Credit and Savings Bank have trained a total of 40,000 Saudis in preparation for the first phase of the plan, which was to Saudize the sector by 50 percent," said Khalid Abalkhail, the ministry's official spokesman. He said the number of graduates so far is 22,516 Saudi men and women. "The ministry also provided online courses for Saudis living in areas where it is hard to find a training center. The number of graduates from these courses reached 16,502. At least 930 of the graduates were employed and 750 of them started their own businesses," said Abalkhail.
