More displacement of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and other foreign workers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) looms as the Saudi government intensifies the nationalization of its work force.
In a news statement, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) said the Saudi government announced it would stop the renewal of residency permits for foreigners in 35 professions.
The new Saudi policy will also lead to the termination of employment and deportation of foreigners aged between 35 to 54 in the said categories.
“The move will give opportunity for young Saudi graduates to work in the Kingdom and end the prevailing unemployment crisis,” POEA said.
The new Saudi policy will cover the following professions: purchasing officer; dealer of auto shows; information recorder; central commissar; housing supervisor; secretary; customer accountant; debt collector; written functions; tour guide; pharmacist; assistant pharmacist; medical secretary; financial references; administrative clerk; and relationship jobs.
The other affected occupations are storekeeper; prospecting; support staff; human-resources officer; personnel manager; receptionists; employees in employees units; treasurer; references to government departments; security guard; administrative manager; librarian; training manager; purchasing manager; bookseller; mail dispenser; and administrative assistant.
The new policy is an offshoot of the Saudi government’s measure last year to restrict 12 retail store categories to Saudi nationals.
The Saudi government has been trying to limit its dependence to foreign workers since 2017, when it started taxing dependents of expatriates staying in Saudi.
The initial amount of the tax is 100 Saudi Arabian Riyal (SAR). It will increase to SAR 300 by July 2019.
Last year it also started imposing a SAR 400 monthly tax for every expat worker from companies, which have foreign workers outnumbering its local employees.
“The levy increased to SAR 600 in January 2019 and will increase to SAR 800 per month by 2020,” POEA said.
Based from POEA data, the number of deployment in KSA has been declining since 2016.
From 460,121 deployed OFWs in KSA in 2016, the count dropped to 433,567 in 2017.
POEA has yet to release its deployment data from 2018, but labor officials anticipate the decrease will continue in the coming years as the Saudi government still grapples with its economic woes.