In a landmark announcement in November, Saudi Arabia introduced revised directives governing foreign labour in a bid to better regulate the local labour market by seeking to increase flexibility and competitiveness for workers, as well as foster job mobility.
The Labour Reform Initiative (LRI), launched under the National Transformation Programme (NTP), applies to all expatriate workers employed in the kingdom’s private sector.
The reforms come into effect in March 2021.
The new initiative will regulate the exit and reentry visa issuance process, granting foreign workers flexibility to travel outside the kingdom after submitting a request with the employer’s approval no longer being required.
Companies will be notified electronically of their employees’ departure. Similarly, final exit visa reforms will also enable expatriate workers to leave the country at the end of their contract without the employer’s consent.
“The kingdom’s recently announced labour reforms align well with the Vision 2030 reform plan. The aim of the reforms is to introduce more competition in the labour market, and also create conditions that make it more attractive for Saudi workers to join the private sector,” opines Ravi Bhatia, lead analyst Saudi Arabia, Sovereign Ratings at S&P Global Ratings.
This story is from the December 2020 edition of Gulf Business.
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This story is from the December 2020 edition of Gulf Business.
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