JEDDAH — Several Saudi women jobseekers have accused employment offices and private companies of using their bio-data to raise up their Saudization rate without their knowledge. These women were quoted by local daily Al-Madinah as saying that this "illegal practice" has deprived them a chance from being properly employed. They also called for immediate punitive actions against these offices and companies. The women alleged that the employment companies have been found to be using their bio-data to register them with the General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI) as if they have already been employed. They asked about the fate of the agreement signed by the Human Resources Development Fund (Hadaf) with 25 employment offices to find jobs for Saudi women . Under the agreement, Hadaf would pay SR2,800 per head to any employment office which succeeds in finding a job for any Saudi man or woman. Sara Al-Amri, a Saudi woman jobseeker, said she had sent her C.V. about three years ago to a number of employment offices and private companies but was never called for a interview. "I found my name with GOSI as an employee of a company of which I have never heard," she said. She said when she complained to the labor office, she was told that the company was only trying to raise up its Saudization quota. Mariam Abdul Ghani, another female jobseeker, said she received training for three months at a private company and came to learn that the company was receiving money from Hadaf for her employment which was never offered. "The company used my bio-data to claim that it has employed me and paid my subscription at GOSI," she said. She said she would not be employed anywhere now before her name was deleted from GOSI. Fadiya Al-Olyani spoke of a different story. She said she received a call from an official of a certain company asking her to come for the job interview. "When I arrived at the address he gave me, I discovered that the place was nothing more than his own private apartment," she said. She said when she called the company, she was told that there was no job for her and she was never called for any interview. Siham Mohammed said a company offered to pay her and each of her five sisters SR1,000 a month against using their names with GOSI just to increase their Saudization quota and benefit from the subsidies extended by Hadaf.
