Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — The Ministry of Labor and Social Development has claimed that the number of violations in the telecommunication sector have gone down as against last year. During the last three months, only 120 violations have been documented and 108 of them have been fined. During the three-month inspection period, the ministry has closed 253 shops and warned 12 others. The ministry said it conducted 4,607 field visits around the Kingdom during the past three months. Up to 1,034 of the visits were done in Makkah region, 893 visits in the Eastern Province, 632 in Asir, 617 in Qasim, 612 in Madinah region, 347 in Riyadh, 169 in Najran, 111 in Al-Jouf, 57 visits in Baha and Hail each, 54 in Jazan, 20 in Tabuk, and 4 in the Northern Borders. A ministerial decision was issued last year to reserve telecom sector jobs only for Saudis. The ministry added that it aims to find jobs for Saudi nationals that can provide them with suitable salaries and can guarantee job security. In addition, the ministry wants to combat cover-up (tasattur) businesses. The ministry carried out inspection campaigns in cooperation with the ministries of interior, municipal and rural affairs, commerce and investment and communication and information technology. The goal is to ensure that these shops are meeting the 100% nationalization required by the Ministry of Labor and Social Development.
