Saudi Gazette report DAMMAM — An official at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the Eastern Province (Al-Sharqiya) called on the Ministry of Labor to review the decision to Saudize the Kingdom's gold jewelry factories and workshops. Abdulghani Al-Muhanna, chairman of the gold and jewelry committee at Al-Sharqiya, said there are no qualified and skilled Saudis available in the gold jewelry manufacturing industry. He said: “The number of Saudis who have expertise in this industry in the province is not more than 10 and they are aged over 50.” Al-Muhanna said gold traders welcomed the ministry's decision to replace foreigners with Saudi men at their showrooms. He said: “Our jewelers achieved 100 percent Saudization in shops. However, we face several difficulties in implementing Saudization in our factories and workshops mainly because of the lack of skilled personnel.” Al-Muhanna also urged the ministry to review its decision to limit the percentage of foreigners from one nationality to 40 percent of the total workforce at a firm, Asharq Arabic daily reported. He said: “Some Asian nationals have proved their expertise and skills in making and designing gold jewelry. “They also have high professional ethics and honesty compared to workers from other countries.” He claimed a large number of gold factories and workshops have shut down in the province since the launch of the security campaign to crack down on illegal workers on Nov. 4. According to Al-Muhanna, the decision to ensure women are given opportunities to work in jewelry showrooms is very difficult to implement. This is mainly because the space of most of the showrooms does not exceed 40 square meters, he said. Apart from this, these showrooms must have fulfilled all the requirements and conditions to ensure women can work in them, he said. This also includes ensuring male and female employees are separated and that means one showroom needs to be divided into two separate sections. It is very difficult to divide a 40 square-meter room into two, he said. Al-Muhanna noted jewelry owners have rejected the very idea of employing women in their shops. They said women would not be able to shoulder the responsibility of running shops that have stocks worth huge amounts of money. He said: “Even men find it very difficult to run gold and jewelry shops and ensure they are well protected. “So how can it be possible for women to shoulder such a responsibility, especially during peak trading hours?” Al-Muhanna said shops in the Eastern Province are seen as a model for achieving the highest percentage of Saudization. The percentage of Saudization in workshops, however, is not more than 2 percent, he said. Al-Muhanna said the nationalization of gold shops required a strategic plan to be implemented over a period of 10 years. Nationals need to be trained in the profession at various stages, he said. There are around 1,200 gold stores in the Kingdom and 800 workshops, Al-Muhanna said, adding that gold stores should be fully localized. “We should not accept the common excuse that nationalization is difficult due to a lack of expertise,” he added. Meanwhile, a member of the gold committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) said 70 percent of gold shops will close down once inspectors who are ensuring these businesses meet labor regulations have finished visiting them. Muhammad Azooz said some 840 gold shops are run by non-Saudis and any closures would take place over the next six months. "With this, sales of shops that are not violating the Saudization law will increase by 700 percent,” he said. Azooz expected 95 percent of gold workshops in the country to close down. He pointed out that 40 percent have shut down already because they either failed to rectify the status of their employees or their workers demanded a threefold increase in salaries. He also urged the Labor Ministry to facilitate foreign recruitment into these professions. “The Labor Ministry campaign on these workshops were successful, but most of these shops close down when they hear they are going to be raided. “I suggest trying to find a mechanism to Saudize jobs instead of carrying out raids so the shops will remain open." Azooz agreed that employing Saudi women in these jobs was very difficult because the work suited only men. He said gold shops in the Eastern Province are not affected by the current raids because the percentage of Saudization is higher there than other places in the Kingdom. “People in that region rely on their youth, unlike in other regions that are heavily dependent on foreign labor."
