Cairo: Despite a relentless inspection crackdown, there are still many illegal migrant workers in the Saudi contracting sector, a construction expert has said.
“The irregular labour has recently increased in numbers despite legalisation and regulation measures taken by the Ministry of Labour and constant inspection tours mounted by municipalities,” Ayman Al Muamen told Saudi TV Rotana Khalijia.
In recent months, Saudi authorities have stepped up a clampdown on violators of the kingdom’s labour, residency and border security rules, arresting thousands.
The kingdom’s labour authorities have also introduced a vocational test programme to verify skills of overseas migrant workers before their employment.
”The irregular workers are present [in the kingdom] in large numbers. They are back even in a bit larger number than before,” the expert said without giving specific figures.
Saudi Arabia, a country of around 34.8 million people, is home to a large community of foreign migrants.
In 2020, the kingdom introduced major labour reforms, drastically improving its sponsorship system.
The reforms, which went into effect in the ensuing year, allow job mobility and regulate the exit and re-entry visa issuance for expatriate workers without employers’ approval.
Employee mobility allows expatriate workers to transfer between employers upon the expiry of the binding work contract without the employer’s consent.
The exit and re-entry visa reforms, meanwhile, allow expatriate workers to travel outside Saudi Arabia without the employers’ approval after submitting a request.
