DUBAI: The Saudi Arabia government announced on Monday that sponsors and employers of foreigners working illegally in the Gulf country will be forced to pay the cost of deportation under new regulations approved by the cabinet. The ultra-conservative Gulf country is cracking down on illegal foreign workers in an effort to move more Saudi citizens into private sector jobs. Tens of thousands of people have been deported in recent months as government inspectors descended on businesses that have long bent the rules to hire foreigners, who are often paid less than Saudi nationals. Last week, Labor Minister Adel al-Fakieh said the kingdom would impose tough penalties, including jail sentences and fines, on owners of small businesses which harbored illegal workers. But workers would have three months before being deported. The announcement came after workers had begun to panic over what they believed were to be mass deportations of foreign workers living in the country without sponsors. “It was really a worrying thing because we didn't know if my husband would be deported because he has been working here without a sponsor," Omnia told Bikyanews.com from Riyadh. “All of our friends are really concerned as well because of the lack of information." King Abdullah ordered the interior and labour ministries to allow “workers violating the labor and residency system a maximum of three months to rectify their situation," said the statement carried by SPA state news agency. The Saudi authorities this year imposed new labour constraints affecting millions of expatriates in the Gulf state, in a move that sparked fears of mass deportations among the immigrant workers. The kingdom has two million unemployed Saudis, many of them fresh graduates, and women, according to Labour Minister Adel Fakih. “Foreign workers working without labor visas are competing with Saudis for jobs since they accept lower wages," said Saudi economist Ihsan Abu Haliqa. “The current campaign (to expel workers) will no doubt strongly affect retail and services sectors," he said, pointing to the fact that nearly 1.2 million work visas were granted to foreigners in 2011 and two million in 2012. The labor ministry imposed new quotas in 2011 on companies regarding the hiring of local staff, which determines their ability to recruit foreigners. BN
