Ministry plans study on labor recruitment from 7 countries

Saudi Gazette report

GENEVA — At a meeting with representatives of seven Asian countries here Wednesday, the Ministry of Labor shared its plans to conduct a labor recruitment study designed to investigate ways to ensure the fairness and transparency of the recruitment process and contractual policies.

The study will cover the seven main Asian labor-exporting countries — India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Philippines, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

The two-hour meeting took place on the sidelines of the ongoing 101st session of the International Labor Conference here.

Saudi Arabia is the largest employer of foreign labor in the Middle East with an estimated foreign labor force of over eight million workers.

Addressing the meeting, Adel Fakieh, Minister of Labor, said the upcoming study will also look into ways to guarantee the caliber of recruited workers seeking employment in the Kingdom, a step which the minister anticipated will play a role in curbing the number of labor conflicts that may arise between recruited foreign workers and their employers, and which will ultimately lead to improved business productivity.

Fakieh also said the study will explore methods for ensuring the compatibility between the professional qualifications of recruited workers and their contracted jobs while setting world class standards for protecting the rights of workers and employers.

“We aim to become a favorite destination for quality foreign workers and we hope that this study will contribute to the development of recruitment policies that will attract qualified and trained foreign workers who will contribute positively to the development of our national economy,” Fakieh said, pointing out that the study will tackle the issue of recruitment costs and the development of more efficient recruitment and employment procedures in manpower-exporting countries.

The study, which will be conducted by an international consultancy firm, will include workshops with official and private bodies responsible for the recruitment process and will make recommendations leading to the improvement of recruitment procedures.