Posted on 04/01/2013 8:59:20 PM PDT by Steelfish
Saudis Crack Down on Foreign Workers
By ELLEN KNICKMEYER
RIYADH—Foreign workers in Saudi Arabia stayed away en masse from their offices, schools, stores and other workplaces on Monday as the government mounted a crackdown on illegal residents.
Authorities in Saudi Arabia—the biggest labor market in the Persian Gulf, and home to an estimated two million to three million illegal foreign workers—have raided office buildings and set up document checkpoints on main roads recently for workers here illegally, according to workers, Saudis and media reports.
The sweeps make good on years of government promises to reduce the ranks of foreign workers who have kept much of the country's private sector afloat even as the number of jobless young Saudis soars.
The government didn't respond to requests to comment on the efforts or describe their scope.
Saudi labor officials said on Friday that their targets included 250,000 small and medium businesses that failed to employ at least one Saudi. Over the weekend, foreign workers spread word over social media that a crackdown was under way, turning many workplaces into ghost operations Sunday and Monday. Workers who knew or feared their papers weren't in order worked in offices with the lights off or stayed away.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
“....home to an estimated two million to three million illegal foreign workers....”
.
I doubt the validity of that number.
How did these illegals get into Saudi and, more importantly, how will they ever be able to leave the country?
“How did these illegals get into Saudi”
Just a guess. Some poor slob enters legally on a temporary work permit. When he gets used to making more money than he could possibly get in Bangladesh, he’s tempted to overstay. At that point his status becomes illegal.
Are there even any qualified/skilled Saudis who could do the work?
They don’t want to do the work. They do not have the ethic of work being good or to be productive being desirable.
“They don’t want to do the work. They do not have the ethic of work being good or to be productive being desirable.”
Kind of like today’s high school graduates. You can’t blame the Saudis for doing the same thing small business is forced to do in the United States.
Yep.
Forgot to add the /rhetorical tag...
It’s not even that really. It’s more an attitude that success means being a king and not working.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.