A new law requires the Saudi telecom sector to be based on domestic personnel
On April 9th it was reported that the employment secrtery in Saudi Arabia issued an order on March 10th that until September 3rd all telecommunication sector workers will have to be local nationals, to ensure that the domestic telecom market is staffed entirely by local personnel.
It was also determined that up to June 6th, all the mobile industry in the kingdom will recruit at least 50% Saudi employees and up to September 3rd all employees will be Saudis, including positions in shops selling mobile phones, accounting, marketing and clerical jobs. Giant stores which have various departments will have to include separate areas for mobile phone sales, maintenance and personal care, where employees are allowed to be only Saudis.
It was reported that the goal of this process is to create employment opportunities for Saudi nationals who wish to join the telecomm industry, and that it will be monitored in cooperation with law enforcement agencies to ensure compliance of all parties throughout the kingdom in this decision.
It is argued that this step comes from pressure due to the economic downturn in the kingdom due to the decline in oil prices, which had a negative impact on employment, with many of the jobs in the fields of services and retail sectors are manned by employees from South East Asia and India.
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