Shoura Council finds labor recruitment process opaque

A committee of the Shoura Council has been briefed regarding the complaints submitted about the recruitment process; chiefly, the high costs of recruiting domestic help in the Kingdom in comparison to neighboring countries.

After close consideration, the committee confirmed that there is a lot of ambiguity in terms of cost, and recommended the full application of a previous decision made by the Shoura Council which was aimed at addressing this issue with radical solutions. The committee demanded that the Ministry of Labor accurately define the individual terms of the costs for the recruitment of domestic help, and said that it should make firm efforts to curb prices.
The Committee for the Management of Human Resources also discussed a recommendation of the report from the Ministry of Labor for the fiscal year 1335/1436 regarding the revision and development of the mechanisms used to issue visas. This comes with the aim of making the process more flexible, as well as to ensure that intake numbers are more proportional to the actual need of the society for labour, rather than too high or too low.
The committee also noted the ongoing complaints being made by private sector actors, who say that they are not getting the required number of visas, in addition to complaining about the lack of transparency in the issuance of visas.
The committee said that this issue requires urgent review and calls for a development of the criteria and mechanisms required to achieve the needed flexibility between the recruitment sector and the actual needs of the labor market. 
To this end, the members noted a rise in the number of visas granted throughout the year, totaling more than 1,574,504, while the number of seasonal visas amounted to 62,152.
The committee also stressed the need to assess and evaluate the Nitaqat program in order to verify its suitability for the types and sizes of firms and institutions, and its effectiveness as a base to increase the cost of foreign labor in order to achieve competitive advantage among Saudi citizens.
Another recommendation to be discussed by the Shoura during its next session on Oct. 20 involves the demands made by the committee to intensify the inspection visits in the labor market, and to coordinate with the related bodies to provide the necessary human and financial capabilities for this.
Meanwhile, the Shoura Council will discuss during its next session the report of the Security Committee and its recommendations on the proposal submitted by member Fahd bin Jumaa to amend the Anti-Drug and Narcotics Law. The member proposed that the law be adjusted to include the employees of the government, the private sector, as well as students in schools and universities in periodic and random examinations.