Economic Reform
The Issue
The problem of severe discrimination against Saudi Arabia’s religious minorities is only compounded by the Saudi regime’s restrictive and inhumane policies towards the country’s nearly nine million foreigners, or one-third of the population of Saudi Arabia, who live and work in the country without any rights or recognition under the law. The vast majority of these expatriates have fled their own poverty-stricken or war-torn countries in Africa and Asia, such as Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sudan, Sri Lanka and the Philippines. The 2004 report by the Saudi Statistics Department of the Ministry of Economy and Planning acknowledges that non-Saudis account for 67% of the Kingdom’s labor force, while it is estimated expatriates currently hold 85–90% of the private sector jobs. At the same time, there is no minimum wage and workers do not have the right to organize or strike.
From CDHRFailure to Meet Labor Needs A combination of avoidable political, religious, social, and business impediments prevents Saudi Arabia from meeting its growing labor demands. The lack of investment in human development by the Saudi royal family (it controls the decision-making and allocations of funds) is Saudi Arabia’s most obvious impediment to meeting the nation’s labor and other needs. The Saudi educational system remains under the control of the Saudi austere religious establishment, therefore, school curricula are related to religious and nonscientific material. Read More Why not Spend on Poverty Stricken Saudis? After praising his family for its service to Islam and its rejection of all non-Islamic governing values, including non-sectarian constitution and rule of law, Saudi Interior Minister Prince Naïf announced that his government had donated one billion dollars to the Organization Of Islamic States, OIC, to help poor Muslims. Read More Most of Them are Already MaidsThe Saudi Ministry of Social affairs is considering whether to allow millions of poverty stricken Saudi women to work as maids. This news should prompt us to ask the following question: will working as maids improve the status of impoverished Saudi women? The overwhelming majority of Saudi women are playing that role now. Read More Saudi Anti-Corruption Plan Misses Mark While King Abdullah should be acknowledged for admitting that corruption is rampant in Saudi Arabia, in his approval of the “National Strategy to Protect Honesty and Combat Corruption” during a February 2007 ministerial weekly session, he avoided the real source of crippling corruption: a lack of accountability and transparency. Read More |
In the NewsCabinet OKs Anti-Graft Strategy “Saudi Arabia’s Council of Ministers approved a National Strategy to Protect Honesty and Combat Corruption.”
“Saudi companies that do not follow the divine rules of Islam can never give back any amount of money to pay for their lack of honesty and investment in people, said a leading Saudi businessman yesterday at a session on corporate social responsibility (CSR) at the Jeddah Economic Forum.”
‘No Quick Fix’ for Unemployment “Labor Minister Ghazi Al-Gosaibi stated yesterday that fighting unemployment in the Kingdom was a joint responsibility. “It is wrong to assume that it’s the sole responsibility of the Labor Ministry. The whole society with all its institutions must come together to tackle this national issue,” he said.”
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