RIYADH: Adel Fakieh, Minister of Labor, has said that the Supreme Economic Council is the body that will set procedures for the payment of benefits to the unemployed and job seekers, once the ministry has submitted its report on the issue. Fakieh said that the Council will determine who is entitled to unemployment support, approved by King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, and set at SR2,000, and that payments will begin at the beginning of next year. Speaking at an event to honor 160 Saudi McDonalds employees Friday, Fakieh said that “large numbers” of persons would seek to register with the program, known as “Hafiz” or “Incentive”. “The ministry will announce the total number soon once names have been checked to ensure there is no duplication and all applications have been analyzed,” he said. The minister said the moves to Saudize the workforce were ongoing. “The details are known to everyone,” he said. “The only new thing is that it has become a top priority of the nation and attention must be given to it. Previous schemes for Saudization were insufficient and we need greater combined efforts to put in place real foundations to make it happen.” The minister denied suggestions that there were plans to reduce official working hours in the private sector to attract more young employees, and expressed his belief that “Saudization will be a reality in the next few years”. Ministry officials say the number of persons registering with the Hafiz job seeker benefit program through the Ministry of Labor website had reached 1.9 million by Saturday. The figure is expected to hit two million within days. “The website mainly aims to provide the basis for a national database of job seekers and provide all information concerning their qualifications which can be referred to when private companies seek qualified national staff,” an official said. He said that an employment program will be launched in the next few weeks ahead of the start of benefit payments, once registration on the website is complete.
