JEDDAH: IBRAHIM NAFFEE

The government’s crackdown on illegal workers has left 20 percent of jobs vacant and available for legal expatriates and Saudis, an expert said here recently.

Foreign workers gather outside the Saudi immigration department waiting for an exit visa as Saudi security begin their search campaign against illegal laborers, on November 4, 2013 in downtown of Riyadh. (AFP)

Fadal Abu Ainain, an economist and adviser for several private companies, said the campaign has left “a huge vacuum” because thousands of illegal workers have been sent home.

“This will see the need for companies to hire local workers, which will not only cut the cost of hiring labor from abroad but also increase the percentage of Saudis in the private sector,” said Abu Ainain.

“The inspection raids have left 20 percent of jobs vacant, which were occupied by illegal expats who had problems with their sponsors,” he said.

He said private companies are now hiring qualified expatriates born in the Kingdom but who have not transferred their sponsorship to their employers. Many of them live with their parents and are a good alternative to hiring new recruits from abroad, he said.

Experts believe the labor correction campaign will see the exodus of at least 2 million illegal workers, resulting in an acute shortage of workers and an increase in the prices of goods and services.

Meanwhile, the Labor Ministry classified nearly 250,000 small and medium enterprises in the Red Zone of the Nitaqat system on Thursday when the deadline to employ at least one Saudi expired.

Some companies have instructed their workers, who are not under their sponsorship, not to report to work.

Government inspectors have stepped up the campaign to arrest and deport illegal workers and those involved in cover-up businesses. The raids have sent shock waves through the expatriate community, especially among those not working for their sponsors

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