Expatriate women prefer dad’s sponsorship to job

August 19, 2014

Expatriate womenRiyadh, Aug 19: Many expat women are still reluctant to transfer their sponsorships from their male guardians onto their employers despite new Labor Ministry laws.

Abeer Aslam, a human resources consultant in Riyadh, said many expat women just don’t have the guts to leave their comfort zone of security under their family sponsorships.

“Most expat women have grown up here and cannot risk being sent out of the country if their visas get canceled,” she said.

“The implications of transferring sponsorships should be clearly stated. Such a step should be a source of security, not a source of anxiety.”

“In addition, there should be a comprehensive website containing information on how to transfer sponsorships and clear laws stating that women can revert to their original sponsors in the event they quit or are dismissed without having to leave the country.”

Private schools in the Kingdom are hiring Saudi teachers since many expatriates chose to not transfer their sponsorships.

Demand for female teaching jobs is the highest in the Kingdom in comparison to other career options.

A study by the Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF) found that 76 percent of Saudi women have since been on the hunt for teaching jobs.

Hiba Khurshid, a Pakistani teacher, was previously working at a school in Riyadh, but lost her job because she remained on the sponsorship of her male guardian.

“I believe that the nationalization scheme within the female work force has caused more ethnic division among minorities,” she said.

Fresh graduates from universities in the Kingdom are also struggling to find jobs since companies are just as reluctant to sponsor expats for fear of upsetting the Saudi-expat ratio.

Afifa Khan, an architecture graduate from Effat University, is one such example.

“Companies are no longer as happy sponsoring expats for fear of being penalized under the Nitaqat nationalization scheme,” she said.

“We are also not well-paid and this affects the way we are treated. The constant fear of being sent on final exit is what stops many from leaving the sponsorship of their male guardians.”

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News Network
April 27,2020

Riyadh, Apr 27: The government of Saudi Arabia has signed a SR995 million (approx. Dh972m) contract with China to provide Covid-19 tests for nine million people in the Kingdom.

The Saudi Press Agency, SPA, reported that the decision came "as a result of a phone call made today (Sunday) between the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Chinese President Xi Jinping."

The contract includes providing necessary equipment and supplies, making available of 500 Chinese specialists and technicians who are specialised in performing tests, establishing six large regional laboratories throughout the Kingdom; including a mobile laboratory with a capacity of performing 10,000 tests per day. Saudi cadres will also be trained to conduct daily tests and comprehensive field tests, under the new agreement

The contract was co-signed by the National Unified Procurement Company and Chinese company Huo-yan Laboratories by Dr. Abdullah Al Rabeeah, Advisor at the Royal Court, on behalf of the Government of Saudi Arabia, and Chinese Ambassador to the Kingdom Chen Weiqing, as a representative of the Chinese Government.

The contract is one of the largest contracts that will provide diagnostic tests for the novel Coronavirus.

Tests were also purchased from several other companies from the United States, Switzerland and South Korea, bringing the number of available tests to 14.5 million, covering around 40 percent of Saudi Arabia's population, SPA added.

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News Network
May 5,2020

Dubai, May 5: A Saudi ministerial decision issued on Monday allows companies in the private sector to reduce salaries by 40 per cent and allows termination of contracts owing to the economic hardships resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to daily newspaper Al Sharq Awsat.

The new decision was still not published by the cabinet according to the newspaper.

The decision which the newspaper saw a copy of was signed by Saudi Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development to regulate the labour contract in the current period, allows employers to reduce the employees salaries by 40 percent of the actual effective wage for a period of 6 months, in proportion to the hours of work and allowing the termination of employee contract after 6 months of the COVID-19 circumstances.

The new decision has also included a provision in which the employer would be allowed to cut wages even he or she benefits from the subsidy provided by the goverment, such as those for helping pay workers wages or exemption from government fees.

The decision also stressed that employers are not allowed to terminate any employee, unless three conditions are met.

1.            First the passing of six months since the measures of salary cut has been taken

2.            Reducing pay, annual leave and exceptional leave were all used

3.            Company proves that its facing financial troubles due to the circumstances.

The memo, which goes into affect as soon as its published in the government’s official newspaper, ensures that the employee will receive his/her salary if on annual leave within the period of 6 months.

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KT
June 30,2020

Dubai, Jun 30: The UAE Embassy in India on Tuesday urged expats stranded in India to procure travel approvals from the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship (ICA) in the UAE ahead of their travel to the UAE.

It has also assured UAE residence visa holders that a no-objection letter to travel would be issued on a humanitarian basis, as long as the resident meets all conditions set by the government of UAE.

The UAE Embassy in New Delhi tweeted Tuesday morning, "The @UAEembassyIndia would like to draw the attention of the valid UAE residence permit holders currently present in India, to the necessity of obtaining necessary approval from the @ICAUAE while ensuring that all conditions set by the UAE competent authorities are observed."

It added, "Please note that UAE will issue no objection letter to travel in some humanitarian cases only that meet all conditions and requirements."

The embassy also affirmed its commitment to the decisions of the Indian authorities regarding the continued closure of airports in India, and implementation of some restrictions that do not allow foreign airlines to carry passengers.

"We express our thank for your cooperation and your understanding of the current global situation, and in case there is any developments in this regard, we will publish it on the official platforms of embassy (sic)," the Embassy tweeted.

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