Saudi decision to limit foreign workers shocks war-weary Yemenis

By Mohammed Alragawi

ISTANBUL (AA) – Saudi Arabia recently announced new regulations on the percentage of foreign workers in private sector establishments in the kingdom.

The new rules set the percentage of Indian and Bangladeshi workers at 40 percent, while the maximum limit for Yemeni workers has been set at 25 percent and one percent for Ethiopian nationals.

These rules are applicable to the provinces of Aseer, Al-Baha, Najran and Jazan in southern Saudi Arabia, according to local media.

Under the new regulations, business owners could “fire of transfer” the extra workers to other branches outside these provinces, or relocate them to other companies.

The surprising regulations came as a shock for many Yemenis, who fled civil war in their own country for a better living in neighboring Saudi Arabia.

An academic working in Jazan University, who preferred to be unnamed, said the Saudi decision came at a critical time.

“We are approaching the beginning of a new school year, which is a difficult time to find a new job during this period,” he told Anadolu Agency.

“I have children registered in schools and universities. If my contract is cancelled, the residence permit will be cancelled for the whole family immediately. Therefore, I will not be able to find another job so easily, and my children will be expelled from their schools,” he said.

The Saudi decision to limit foreign workers is applicable to around 500 Yemeni academics working in five universities in the southern regions, where three of them already informed their foreign members of termination of their contracts.

“This weekend, my friend in the University of Tabuk, located in northwestern Saudi Arabia, confirmed that the university refused to renew the work contracts of Yemeni academics, which means the limitation of foreign workers is spreading all over Saudi Arabia and not limited to southern regions only,” the academic said.

- Survival

After years of waiting, some academics are expecting their promotions soon, but the latest Saudi decision risks destroying their career in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi authorities neither officially admitted nor denied the decision to limit foreign workers.

However, Yemeni doctors working in Prince Mishari Bin Saud Hospital-Baljurash shared with Anadolu Agency an official letter, dated July 27, from the General Directorate of Health Affairs in Al-Baha province asking the hospital to provide them with their justifications of the termination of contracts of two Yemeni doctors.

Adel al-Shuja, a Yemeni academic, said survival in Yemen depends on two main things; “remittances sent by expatriates abroad, specifically from Saudi Arabia, and humanitarian aid provided by relief organizations”.

“Instead of restoring the legitimate government to Yemen, Saudi Arabia is returning Yemeni workers who contribute up to 60 percent of the Yemeni families’ income which helps to alleviate poverty amid the ongoing war,” he told Anadolu Agency.

Observers believe that if the decision is fully implemented, more than 700,000 Yemenis will be expelled from southern Saudi provinces, which will have profound political, economic and humanitarian effects on Yemenis living in Saudi Arabia and their families in Yemen.

Another Yemeni academic, who preferred to stay anonymous, told Anadolu Agency that a group of academics working in several universities formed a committee to discuss this matter with Yemeni officials residing in Saudi Arabia.

“In separate meetings, we managed to meet some Yemeni officials, including the vice-president, prime minister, and minister of interior affairs. They all promised to follow up on the issue with the Saudi officials,” he said.

However, days passed and “we did not hear any developments yet,” he went on to say.

- Economic disaster

Describing the Saudi decision as “unacceptable” and carries “discriminatory connotations, SAM Organization for Rights and Liberties called on the Saudi authorities to reverse their decision.

The organization said “serious economic consequences” will appear as three million Yemeni workers in Saudi Arabia are the primary supporters of the economy in Yemen.

“If workers get deported, the country, which has suffered from a severe shortage of basic needs for years, may face an economic disaster of unknown results,” SAM warned.

While the limitation of workers included other nationalities, some analysts suggest that including the Yemeni workers in this decision could have security concerns due to the ongoing Houthi rebel attacks on southern Saudi provinces bordering Yemen.

Earlier, the Saudi Health Ministry confirmed that there are specific percentages for workers’ nationalities in each establishment, based on their eligibility.

Al-Shuja warned that eliminating such a large number of workers and sending them back to Yemen will not only contribute to drying up support for Yemeni families, but also fuel violence by new angry fighters.

He believes that it is the duty of Saudi Arabia, as the main supporter of the Yemeni government, to “work as hard as it can” to provide Yemenis with more food and medical supplies, but not to take away what is already in their hands.

Saudi Arabia is leading a coalition of Sunni Arab countries that have launched a massive air campaign in 2015 against the Iran-aligned Houthi group, which overran much of Yemen, including the capital Sanaa a year earlier.