MAHMOUD AHMAD WITH less than 40 days left for Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah's amnesty to end, the real question now is: What's the next step in this ongoing Nitaqat and overstaying saga? The King's three-month amnesty was designed to help undocumented expatriate workers rectify their status in the Kingdom. Relief was the first thing that many expatriates felt at the announcement of the King's generous offer which afforded them one more chance to get their lives in order. The relief and happiness were due to the fact that many expatriates were hoping for an opportunity to rectify their status and escape from bad sponsors. But the relief soon turned to confusion, as many expatriates not knowing where to go and how to complete the process found themselves shuttling between the Passport Department and the Labor Ministry with each authority shifting the onus of responsibility to the other. Authorities are still struggling, as many predicted, to apply the mechanism by which the Royal Decree is to be executed. Even now, after more than a month since the amnesty was announced, many issues are still hazy as expatriates run from pillar to post in their race against time. The sight of multitudes of expatriates camping outside their embassies and consulates demonstrates that this problem has been prevalent in our society for ages without any attempt to root out the problem. If the Labor Ministry had, in the past, attempted to correct the situation by giving expatriates an opportunity to rectify their status, or if it had been tough on abusive sponsors, then the number of illegals camping outside the various missions would have been less than the current numbers. I have been following the many published reports in different newspapers on how expatriates are still confused about where to go. The vast majority of them are unaware of the terms and conditions that apply to various situations. Expatriates with a working knowledge of Arabic have some idea while the vast majority of expatriates who do not know Arabic are in suspended animation and are completely at sea about where to go and what to do? If they go to the Labor Ministry, the ministry sends them to the Passport Department, while some are told to visit their missions first to get a paper or to get papers authenticated, which is a drain on their pockets. In addition, in some cases sponsors demand money from expatriates for an NoC or to get their documents back, even though the government has emphasized that such services are for free. It is heart-rending to see many non-Arab expats, who do not understand Arabic, standing perplexed in front of signs in Arabic that outline the conditions and rules of the amnesty in Abruq Al-Rughama. The irony is that a little extra effort on the part of the ministries could have gone a long way. The same signs could be in English and in two or three other languages. But it seems that the grace period is limited to three months and the number of languages used for communication is limited to one — Arabic! Expatriate workers did not choose to be in this situation, but were forced into it. Since we are responsible, either directly or indirectly for creating this mess, then we should facilitate all procedures to help correct the situation. Rectifying the status of expatriate workers is the least we can do as an apology to all expatriates who have been treated badly by some Saudi sponsors and some companies. Correcting their situation will help preserve their dignity and guarantee their rights in the eyes of the law, regardless of their nationality, religion or the color of their skin. A large number of expatriates are also taking advantage of the amnesty by deciding to leave for home, while others still hope to correct their situation and continue to work in the Kingdom. To correct the situation of all these expatriates is going to be a gigantic task and I am sure that more time will be needed. The Passport Department and Labor Ministry, according to many published reports and the growing worrying comments of many expatriates, did not actually start processing papers until maybe a month after the amnesty was announced. And to serve everyone, more time is needed. There is also another facet we need to consider. After the amnesty period is over and the residence and work status of expatriates is rectified, we must make sure that we do not go back to square one by allowing free reign to Saudis dispensing “free visas” with hordes of expatriate workers arriving legitimately on those visas. This will again give rise to people circumventing the Saudization program and contravening the labor laws with regard to job specifications and Nitaqat. The Labor Ministry along with a joint committee of members of other responsible authorities should conduct regular weekly inspections of establishments to make sure that the establishments sponsor all of their workers and that nobody is flouting the Nitaqat rules. Stiff punishments should be imposed on institutions caught employing expatriate workers not sponsored by them. I realize that this will require a large number of ministerial staff, but since there is a pool of local talent and a number of unemployed Saudis, then the Labor Ministry should think about hiring them and training them to do the job. Authorities should be strict when providing visas to Saudi sponsors or to companies. They should come up with mechanisms that ensure that there is a minimal level of visa abuse. The Labor Ministry should establish a hotline for expatriate workers to call in case they are being abused or facing difficulty or simply have an inquiry about their rights. Labor courts, if they exist, should be activated and law firms should do pro bono work while the justice system should be just and should fast track some cases. Lawyers should provide help to expatriate workers and represent them against powerful companies or strong opponents. The Labor Ministry in coordination with foreign embassies and consulates should organize monthly seminars hosting lawyers, who have knowledge of Urdu, Hindi or Tagalog, to enhance awareness among expatriate workers about their rights and duties, since the vast majority of them are totally unaware of their rights. During such seminars, flyers in all languages should be distributed for free to increase awareness about the rights and duties of expatriate workers. Again, I reiterate that a lot of time was wasted in setting up the mechanism to implement the Royal Decree. It appears that the authorities were unprepared to handle such large numbers of people. Also the number of staff working to rectify the status of expatriates is limited in number and it would be unreasonable for us to expect them to meet the amnesty deadline. Therefore, the only humane consideration under these circumstances is to give people more time to get the job done. — The writer can be reached at [email protected]
