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Monday, 23rd February 2004 (6168 views)

The gold industry in Saudi Arabia is to be preserved for domestic workers only, as a government initiative to drive up national employment gets underway.<BR/><BR/>Reports from AFP suggest that the Saudi government has begun enforcing a decision to keep foreign workers out of the nation's gold jewellery stores. <BR/><BR/>It is thought the authorities will now begin sending in teams to check the nationality of workers in a bid to drive up employment among Saudis.<BR/><BR/>The secretary general of the Manpower Council, Abdulwahed al-Humayyed, told AFP that the transition was definitely occurring, but that its success could not yet be judged.<BR/><BR/>'It is too early to say if the Saudization of the gold sector is proceeding smoothly but the feedback we are getting from the field so far is encouraging,' he commented.<BR/><BR/>The jewellery sector has had a three-year grace period to implement the changes, enabling Saudis to 'reclaim small businesses'.<BR/><BR/>The availability of cheap foreign labour has proved profitable for some within the country's gold industry, a trend that now look set to be overturned.<BR/><BR/>Around 6.5 million foreigners work in Saudi Arabia according to official statistics.

 

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