Saudi: Status woes of expat teachers to end

October 21, 2014

Jeddah, Oct 21: The Education Ministry in coordination with the Labor Ministry has moved to facilitate the legalizing of the statuses of expatriate teachers working in international schools. It will be done through registration with the “Ajeer Service” of the Labor Ministry.

Expat-teachersAll international schools were sent a notice to the effect by Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Murshid, director general of education and training, Riyadh region on Dhul Hijjah 22.

The administrators and employees of international schools have welcomed the move as it will legalize their statuses.

The Ajeer Service aims to curb the visa trade and reduce the number of workers who run away from their sponsors as well as protect their rights, those of the establishments and the individual sponsors.

The ministry said in the notice that male and female teachers working in international and public schools should register themselves with the service to avoid breaking the law.

It further said that spouses can work under the same sponsors in the same schools but they need to register with the system so that they have a certificate or authorization to show Labor inspection teams on their routine rounds.

Padma Hariharan, director & head of Novel International Group of Institutions, said that the notice mentioned that a sibling or family member can also sign up for a job in the same school through the Ajeer Service website. “However, those who already have a job at the same school but have not registered with the Ajeer Service will be considered in breach of the Kingdom’s laws,” she observed.

A family member can be verified by submitting his documents to the ministry as mentioned by the MOE. The ministry has ordered schools to have their employees registered with the Ajeer Service. This includes those employees who have already obtained permission to work with the Ministry of Education following interviews.

However, employees without permission certificates will have to attend an interview with the ministry and have their files reviewed.

“Employees need to be verified by the ministry for their jobs. The advantage of the law is that if both spouses are working for the same employer, they will be more comfortable and happier. However, the downside is that if one of them loses his job, then everyone including the children or siblings who are employed in the same establishment will also have to forgo their jobs,” Hariharan noted.

She added that she was happy that the MOE had taken both perspectives into consideration and was focusing on both quality and productivity while at the same time trying to generate maximum employment from every family.

The doctor thanked the ministry officials for working out a law which stood to benefit the expatriates in the Kingdom and prayed that talented, qualified and trained expatriate housewives would take this opportunity to serve the education sector to groom future leaders.

The MOE’s move comes at a time when the Kingdom is actively trying to streamline the employment sector with regards to both citizens and expatriates.

As a large number of international schools depend on expatriate teachers who are dependents for the most part, it was considered important to regularize their status so that they can work legally in the Kingdom.

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Agencies
August 8,2020

Beirut, Aug 7: A devastating explosion that destroyed much of Beirut might have been the result of a missile attack or bomb, Lebanese President Michel Aoun said, as the death toll from the blast rose to 154.

More than 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate had been sitting in a port warehouse for six years, but there have been conflicting accounts about why Lebanese authorities decided to empty the shipment of explosive material. The vessel carrying the flammable cargo was heading from Georgia to Mozambique when it stopped in the Lebanese port to load up on iron, according to the ship’s captain.

By Friday, 19 suspects had been arrested and Lebanon’s former director general of customs Chafic Merhy had been questioned by military police.

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Arab News
March 9,2020

Dubai, Mar 9: The eyes of the world will be on the oil markets when the big trading hubs in Europe and North America open following the end of the deal between Saudi Arabia and Russia that has helped to sustain crude at relatively high levels for the past three years.

There were big falls on Friday when ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) failed to get a deal with non-OPEC members — the so-called OPEC+ — to extend output agreements. Brent oil was down nearly 10 percent at $45.27 going into the western weekend.

Saudi Aramco took immediate action to cut prices after the OPEC+ collapse, offering big discounts for crude deliveries from next month, when the current output restrictions end.

According to a notification sent to customers by Saudi Aramco, seen by Arab News, the Kingdom’s oil giant will cut between $4 and $8 per barrel, with the biggest discounts being offered to buyers in northwest Europe and the US.

Roger Diwan, an oil analyst at consultancy IHS Market, said: “We are likely to see the lowest oil prices of the past 20 years in the next quarter.”

West Texas Intermediate, the US oil benchmark, fell to $28.27 in November 2001.

The move raises the possibility of a “crude war” between the three biggest oil blocs — the US, Russia and the Arabian Gulf. Some analysts believe the American shale industry is more vulnerable to low prices than either the Russians or the Saudis.

Robin Mills, head of the Qamar consultancy, told Arab News: “I don’t think this was premeditated but Saudi Arabia has clearly swung quickly into action to put the Russians under pressure. But the Russians, with low debt and a flexible exchange rate, can cope with a few months of low prices.”

The boom in US shale has made the country the biggest oil producer in the world, but with high financing costs. Lower global prices would put a lot of shale companies out of business.

On the other hand, American motorists, and President Donald Trump, would be pleased to see lower fuel prices in an election year.

In Moscow, one prominent financier with ties to the Kingdom played down the long-term significance of the Vienna fallout.

Kirill Dmitriev, chief executive of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, told Arab News: “Saudi Arabia is our strategic partner, and cooperation between our two countries will continue in all areas. We will also continue to work within the framework of the Russia-Saudi Economic Council.”

One Russian official, who asked not to be named, added: “There is a good relationship between Alexander Novak, Russian energy minister, and his Saudi counterpart Prince Abdul Aziz bin Salman, and I am sure they will continue talking to each other less formally.”

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News Network
March 21,2020

Mar 21: Qatari authorities arrested 10 nationals for breaking home quarantine rules as Doha tightens regulations amid the coronavirus outbreak, local daily The Peninsula Qatar reported on Saturday.

The Ministry of Public Health released a statement naming the detainees and said that the violators were currently being referred to prosecution.

The tiny country, where expatriates comprise the majority of the population, on Thursday reported eight more infections to take its tally to 470, the highest number among the six Gulf Arab states that have reported a total of more than 1,300 coronavirus cases.

Government spokeswoman Lulwa Rashed Al-Khater told a news conference the new cases included two Qataris who had been in Europe, with the rest migrant workers.

Qatari authorities on Tuesday announced the closure of several square kilometers of the industrial area in Doha, the capital, which also contains labor camps and other housing units.

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