Saudi Arabia to fire all expats from govt jobs within three years

RIYADH: The Ministry of Civil Service in Saudi Arabia, in a major order, has directed all ministries and government departments to terminate all contracts with expatriate workers within three years. 

The news was announced by Civil Services Minister Abdullah Al-Melfi during a Monday meeting which focused on fully implementing the “job nationalization (Saudization) Plan” by 2020, reported Saudi Gazette.

According to the ministry, there are currently an estimated 70,000 expats working in the public sector.

“The complete nationalization of government jobs is an important objective of the National Transformation Program 2020 and the Kingdom’s Vision 2030,” Malfi said during the meeting.

The meeting was followed by a “job nationalization,” workshop attended by a number of senior ministry officials and HR experts.

The workshop began with a detailed report about the present situation of the Saudization process followed by a presentation on the procedures of job nationalization by 2020.

In recent months the kingdom has been intensifying its efforts to boost employment opportunities for Saudi nationals under the kingdom’s new 2030 vision.

The ambitious blueprint aims to fight unemployment, develop non-oil industries, support small and medium enterprises, and create a broader investment base in the kingdom.

Many orders have been passed under it, including an order that limits jobs in shopping malls to Saudi nationals and another that encourages Saudi women to work from home.