Saudization: 20,000 Riyal fine for each expat working in gold sector

News Network
November 29, 2017

Jeddah, Nov 29: Gold and jewelry shops that employ foreigners will be asked to pay a fine of Saudi Riyal 20,000 (around Rs 3.5 lakh) for each expat worker after Dec 3 when 100% Saudization of the sector comes into force.

The ministry also intends to appoint permanent inspectors in every market and mall to conduct surprise inspections and punish violators of the Saudization law.

Khaled Aba Al-Khail, spokesman of the Ministry of Labor and Social Development, said field inspectors will track down violators and impose fines after the Dec. 3 deadline.

However, members of the precious metal and stone committee at the Council of Saudi Chambers have expressed their reservation over the success of Saudization in the sector.

“We need to fight tasattur or cover-up business to make Saudization successful,” said Abdul Mohsen Al-Namir, a member of the committee, referring to jewelry shops run by expats in the name of Saudis.

There are more than 6,000 gold and jewelry shops in the Kingdom that employ about 25,000 workers including expatriates. Some of them are owned by foreign investors.

“The success of Saudization depends on the success of fighting corruption. Many owners of gold and jewelry shops and showrooms are foreigners,” Al-Namir told Al-Madina Arabic newspaper.

“Many of the shops are in the name of Saudis but they are actually owned by expats. Some foreigners have entered into partnership business with Saudis,” he explained.

Al-Namir also spoke about the possibility of accommodating Saudis involved in tasattur business as investors.

He asked the ministry to study the reasons for the failure of Saudization and give shops enough time to deal with the reasons that have prevented 100 percent Saudization of the sector for the last 16 years.

“At present Saudization rate in the sector does not exceed 50 percent,” he pointed out.

Abdul Ghani Al-Muhanna, another member of the committee, expressed hope that the ministry’s full-scale Saudization will lead to saving the sector from tasattur (cover-up) business.

“The decline in the number of Saudi employees in the sector is really a matter of deep concern,” he said told Al-Madina newspaper.

He said expatriates were purposely trying to keep Saudis away from the sector to maintain their dominance.

Saudi employees in the sector are forced to work long hours affecting their social and family commitments, Al-Muhanna said.

“Many Saudis receive low salaries which has forced them to leave their jobs at gold and jewelry showrooms,” he pointed out.
 

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Althaf
 - 
Wednesday, 29 Nov 2017

Acche din for saudis. 

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News Network
July 12,2020

Bosnia, Jul 12: Bosnians commemorated on Saturday the massacre of about 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica, marking the 25th anniversary of killings that shocked the world and have stood out as Europe's only atrocity since World War Two constituting genocide.

Nine newly identified victims were buried at a flower-shaped cemetery near the town, where tall white tombstones mark the graves of 6,643 other victims.

"After 25 years we succeeded in finding his mortal remains, so they can be laid to their final rest," said Fikret Pezic, who buried his father Hasan.

The remains of some 1,000 victims of the massacre in the eastern town during Bosnia's 1992-1995 war are still missing.

Ifeta Hasanovic decided to bury incomplete remains of her husband, saying: "We were aware they cannot be complete after 25 years, at least there are some, I did not want to make any new delays."

World leaders addressed the ceremony by video link, unable to attend because of coronavirus epidemic. Instead of the tens of thousands visitors who typically attend the commemoration each year, only a few thousand came after organisers banned organised visits.

During the Bosnian war, Bosnian Serb forces pushed non-Serbs out of territories they sought for their Serb statelet. Fleeing Muslims took shelter in several eastern towns, including Srebrenica, that were designated as United Nations "safe zones".

On July 11, 1995, the Serb forces commanded by General Ratko Mladic overran Srebrenica, which was protected by lightly armed Dutch peacekeepers.

They sent women and children away and captured and executed the men and boys they found. The bodies were dumped into mass graves and later exhumed by U.N. investigators and used as evidence in war crimes trials of Bosnian Serb leaders.

"We grieve with the families that tirelessly seek justice for the 8,000 innocent lives lost, all these years later," said U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Washington brokered Bosnia's peace deal months after the massacre.

Most people at the commemoration were Muslim Bosniaks, reflecting conflicting narratives about the bloodshed - which hinders reconciliation nearly 25 years after the end of war in which about 100,000 people were killed.

The U.N. war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia convicted Mladic and his political chief Radovan Karadzic over Srebrenica genocide but they remained heroes for Serbs, many of whom deny that genocide happened.

On Saturday, the Serbs in the nearby town of Bratunac organised an event marking July 11 as the "Srebrenica Liberation Day".

Sefik Dzaferovic, the Bosniak chairman of Bosnia's tripartite presidency, called for legislation that would ban denial of genocide.

"There can be no trust as long as we witness attacks on the truth, denial of genocide and glorification and celebration of executors," Dzaferovic told the commemoration gathering.

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News Network
January 16,2020

Mangaluru, Jan 16: Following the widespread protests against the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), former minister and MLA UT Khader on Thursday urged the Centre and State government to address the concerns of the people.

Speaking to reporters here on Thursday, he said there is widespread confusion among the public with regard to the implementation of the Act. People are reluctant to open their doors to Asha workers, out of fear that the NRC exercise is being implemented, said Khader.

He urged the chief minister and home minister to gain the trust of the people on the CAA issue.

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News Network
May 4,2020

Kalaburagi, May 4: Migrant workers stranded in different parts of Karnataka arrived in buses at Central Bus Stand in Kalaburagi on Monday morning and are being sent to their home towns.

The Kalaburagi City Corporation has made the requisite arrangements for labourers and their thermal screening is also being done.

"Food packets and water bottles are being provided to all. Buses carrying migrant workers started arriving from 5 am. We are expecting around 70 buses. This process will continue for the next 3 days," Rahul Pandve, Kalaburagi Commissioner City Corporation, told news agency.

"We have made arrangements for registration. And all arriving at the site are undergoing thermal screening," he said.

Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa had on Sunday allowed labourers to travel to their hometowns in the state on KSRTC buses free of charge for three days starting on Sunday.

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