Recruitment agencies called for strict measures on fleeing expats or agencies that violate the laws in a workshop conducted

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Recruitment agencies called for strict measures on fleeing expats or agencies that violate the laws in a workshop conducted by Asharqia Chamber
 
 
Recruitment agencies owners in the eastern region called for a radical solution to the issue of fleeing workers, and they asserted that this issue is damaging their reputation and credibility as business owners. Agency owners stated during the workshop held in Asharqia Chamber represented by the recruitment committee on Wednesday morning 11 November 2015 in its central office asserted that there should be a proper penalties system and fines. They consider the current measures of deportation and banning the worker for entering Saudi is not sufficient.  
 
Sultan Almutairy, deputy chief inspector in the ministry of labor office, said that they ministry did not receive any complaint and that the new labor laws and regulations have warned from mediating in any recruitment operation without a license. The new bylaws include fines, and that start from 25 thousand riyals, and he mentioned that to request a sponsorship transfer between establishments is conditional the establishment is a green band establishment or above. He pointed out that the ministry is keen on preserving the rights of all the involved parties including the workers. Thus, the ministry has approved of transferring the wages through banks as part of the wages protection program. According to this system, the business owner would be visited by the ministry if the worker did not receive his salary for a particular period, without the need for any complaints.
 
For his part, Mohammed Al-Mohammadi, the director of the recruitment agency said that there is superabundance in the supply of some type workers such as company drivers. Moreover, he mentioned that drivers recruiting procedure is complicated in some Asian countries and easy to others, and the monthly wage for a driver has become 1500 riyal per month.  As for Ibrahim Al-Sanae the vice director of the recruitment said that it is in the service provider's best interest that the whole process is fast. In the past three years, the recruitment process used to take up to three weeks but nowadays it takes exceedingly more since the process involves the ministry of labor, the ministry of the interior affair, the ministry of foreign affairs and the laws of the worker's country.  He added that it was essential to be fair to all the involved parties, to ensure a good relationship with the expats countries.
 
Alsanea explained the reasons behind the agencies refusal to commit to contracts with their clients is that it is hard to fulfill the ministry of law's regulations. The regulation necessitates that drivers should arrive within two months maximum while it takes up to six months due to the complicated process.
 
The committee member Omar AlJuraifany said during the workshop that the recruitment process is a cooperation between different entities, and service providers should follow the rules of the exporting country, clients and the ministry of labor. He mentioned that there were two routes to recruit a worker, either by using an agency or through "musaned." The process will be like renting the service of the worker, since agencies can sponsor the worker for three months and then transfer that sponsorship to the beneficiary, especially that the ministry had recently approved of transferring sponsorship but made it conditional on the ministry's and the worker's approval.  As for companies, they can recruit workers directly by getting visas, by contacting service providers or by contacting the worker directly, but they have to make sure that they are within the company's capacity. AlJuraifany called for activating the ministry's regulation to ensure that all rights are reserved.