Expat levy to add SR60bn economic burden on Saudis

January 17, 2013

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Jeddah, Jan 17: Calls are mounting for the government to repeal the proposed levy for businesses not meeting Saudization requirements. Analysts have said that implementing the measure will impose an additional economic burden of some SR60 billion annually on Saudi families across the country.

Employers are now forced to pay SR2,400 a year for each foreign worker that pushes the work force at a particular company over the 50 percent target mandated by Saudization laws.

Talal Samarkandi, head of the Engineering Firm Committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said his panel would come out with a detailed study that would convince authorities of the need to abolish the levy.

The move comes after Crown Prince Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense, instructed the Council of Saudi Chambers to submit a report on the levy’s impact on both individuals and the national economy.

Many companies have delayed renewing their foreign employees’ iqamas because of the newly imposed fees. Employers now must pay annually SR 2,600 in labor fees for each foreigner over the 50 percent mandate instead of SR100 for all workers’ renewed iqamas, which was the case previously.

Samarkandi said the government would be able to mobilize SR19 billion annually from the new fees. “As a result of the additional expenditures, traders and businesses will increase the prices of their goods and services by three to five times and consumers will be the main victims.”

Many companies, especially contractors and labor suppliers have already increased their charges. Samarkandi estimated the increase in prices of goods after the imposition of the levy at 10 to 20 percent.

There are about 10 million expatriate workers in the Kingdom including those who have overstayed their visas and other undocumented workers. About 3 million expatriates work as house servants while 7 million work in the service and industrial sector.

The new levy would increase the expenditure of businesses by SR20 billion annually. “To meet this expenditure, traders will increase prices of goods and services by three times and the cost will reach SR60 billion,” Samarkandi explained.

“If we distribute this amount among 2.4 Saudi families with seven members in each family, the cost per family comes to SR10,000 every year or SR1,800 per month,” he pointed out.

“This has become a new cost of living increase for Saudis, and the Ministry of Labor has not taken this into consideration when imposing the levy on private companies,” he pointed out.

He said the ministry was just thinking of how to manage the fund required for paying unemployment allowance without checking its negative implications.

Muhiyuddin Al-Hekami, assistant secretary-general of JCCI, said the organization would calculate the damage caused by the levy on various sectors. “It is our duty to protect the interests of businesses in the city.”

Al-Hekami said the chamber had received complaints against the levy from traders, businessmen and industrialists. “We’ll present a detailed report to higher authorities to take appropriate action,” he said.

Nasser Al-Zahem, head of the Health Services Committee, said the Labor Ministry has to clarify whether the new fees are an expat tax. The health sector, which does not receive an adequate number of qualified Saudis, has been suffering big losses as a result of the new decisions, he pointed out. The levy, he said, would force many small companies to leave the market. “They should consider that the private sector is part and parcel of the state,” he added.

Crown Prince Salman called for studying the issue following a meeting with a business delegation led by Abdullah Al-Mubti, president of the Council of Saudi Chambers.

During that meeting, the CSC delegation explained the negative aspects of the Labor Ministry's decision. Prince Salman emphasized the need to protect national interests. The delegation vowed to employ more Saudis in private companies.

In a previous statement, Labor Minister Adel Fakeih said there was no plan to cancel the levy, which was imposed to bridge the gap between the cost of employing expatriates and Saudis, raising the cost of foreign labor. “This is not a ministry decision, it’s a Cabinet decision,” the minister said.

Saleh Hefni, CEO of Halwani Bros Company, said the levy would contribute to increasing inflation rather than nationalizing jobs. “This tax proposal, I think, will not stop the private sector’s dependence on expatriate workers, rather they will try to cover the cost of expatriate workers by increasing the prices of the products they produce and sell in the market,” he added.

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News Network
April 13,2020

Dubai, Apr 13: The UAE plans to impose "strict restrictions" on countries reluctant to take back their nationals working in the Gulf country in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak and restructure its cooperation and labour relations with them, a state-run media report said on Sunday.

Indian expatriate community of nearly 33 lakh is the largest ethnic community in UAE constituting roughly about 30 per cent of the country’s population. Among the Indian states, Kerala is the most represented followed by Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

The options being considered by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation include "imposing strict future restrictions on the recruitment" of workers from these countries and activating the "quota" system in recruitment operations, state-run WAM news agency reported, citing an official.

It said the options also include suspending memoranda of understanding signed between the ministry and concerned authorities in these countries.

Citing the unnamed official, it said these options are being considered after many countries did not respond to requests by their nationals to return home following the coronavirus outbreak.

The official made it clear that all countries of foreign workers in the UAE should be responsible for their nationals wishing to return to their countries as part of the humanitarian initiative launched recently by the ministry.

Earlier this month, the ministry launched the initiative to enable residents who work in the UAE and wish to return to their countries to do so during the period of precautionary measures undertaken in the UAE to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

Employees will be asked to submit their annual leave dates or agree with their employers on unpaid leave.

UAE's Ambassador to India Ahmed Abdul Rahman Al Banna has said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MOFAIC) had sent out a “note verbale” to all the embassies in the UAE, including the Indian mission, during the past couple of weeks on the issue.

“We have sent the note verbale and all the embassies have been informed including the Indian embassy in the UAE and even the Ministry of External Affairs in India,” Al Banna told Gulf News over phone on Saturday.

He said the UAE has offered to test those who want to be evacuated.

“We are assuring everybody that we have the best of the facilities, the best of the testing centres and we have tested more than 500,000 people,” he said.

“We are assuring them also of our cooperation to fly those who got stranded in the UAE for some reasons. Some got stuck because of the lockdown and closure of airports in India. Some were visiting the UAE.”

“We are offering our system and making sure that they are good (to fly) by doing all the tests and transport them according to the request of their own government,” he said.

The envoy said those who test positive for COVID-19 will remain in the UAE. “They will be treated in our home facilities,” he added.

The Kerala High Court on Saturday sought the central government's response to a petition seeking a direction to bring back Indians stranded in the UAE in view of the coronavirus outbreak in the gulf nation.

Considering the plea by Kerala Muslim Cultural Centre (KMCC) in Dubai, the court directed the Centre to file an affidavit on the steps taken by it to ensure the safety of Indians living there and bring back those stuck in the Gulf countries.

In its plea, KMCC, the organisation for non-resident Indians from Kerala, sought directions to the Ministries of External Affairs and Civil Aviation to provide exemptions in the international air travel ban to bring back those Indians stranded in the UAE.

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News Network
April 24,2020

Riyadh, Apr 24: As many as eleven Indian nationals have died due to COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia.

"As per information available with the Embassy as of April 22, eleven Indian nationals (four in Madinah, three in Makkah, two in Jeddah, one in Riyadh and one in Dammam) have passed away due to COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia," the Embassy of India in Saudi Arabia said in a press release on Wednesday.

It urged the Indian community to remain calm and avoid spreading of rumours amid the COVID-19 crisis.

"The Embassy also reiterates the need for the community to remain calm and avoid spreading of rumours that may create panic. It is important that social media is not used to disseminate false messages and spread hatred along communal lines that can vitiate the atmosphere," the Embassy said.

"As stated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, COVID-19 does not see race, religion, colour, caste, creed, language or borders before striking, and our response and conduct should attach primacy to unity and brotherhood," it said.

Moreover, several measures on the supply of food, medicines and other emergency assistance to Indians in need are being implemented across the Kingdom.

Earlier, Indian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Ausaf Sayeed on April 22 had interacted with Indian community volunteers from the smaller towns all across the Kingdom to discuss the impact of the COVID-19 situation, and evaluate the implementation of various measures to ensure the welfare of Indian nationals.

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News Network
March 18,2020

Dubai, Mar 18: Emirates, one of the world's biggest international airlines, has asked pilots to take unpaid leave to help it mitigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic that has shattered demand for global travel.

"To this end you are strongly encouraged to make use of this opportunity to volunteer for additional paid and unpaid leave," the airline said in an internal email to pilots, seen by Reuters.

Emirates earlier this month asked some staff to take unpaid leave, although at that time it was not available to pilots.

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