it's good to see the saudi's are so enlightened..this is state sponsored racism.....the saudi's can go f*ck themselves.
http://headlines.sify.com/1424news3.html?
No Indians in jewellery shops, too: Saudi Arabia
Dubai, Nov 9
Close on the heels of its ban on foreign taxi drivers, Saudi Arabia has announced that all jobs in gold and jewellery shops, dominated by Indians, will be taken over by local people by next year.
Saudi Interior Minister Prince Naif, who is also chairman of the Manpower Council, has ordered the total "Saudisation" of jobs in gold and jewellery shops from March 4 next year, Al-Madinah newspaper reports.
The shop owners have also been asked to ensure that 50 per cent of their staff are Saudis by the end of this year.
There are 3,500 expatriates working in the 1,100 gold and jewellery shops in Saudi Arabia and 10,000 skilled workers in the 360 workshops in Jeddah alone.
Last year, the minister had ordered that 30 per cent of jobs in the sector should go to Saudis by the end of 2001, 50 per cent this year and 100 per cent by next year, but the authorities complained to the Prince that shops had reported shortage of Saudi workers.
A group of Saudi businessmen have decided to open an institute to train Saudi youth in skilled jobs related to the manufacture and sale of gold and jewellery, Al-Watan said.
There are about 13,500 jobs available for Saudis in the jewellery sector, according to some studies. Non-Saudi workers, who earn 450 million Saudi Riyals (approximately Rs 570 crore) annually from the industry, hold most of the jobs.
Muhammed Azouz, a member of the gold and jewels committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry and director of the training project at the chamber, said the World Gold Council has expressed interest in the diploma courses to be conducted at the proposed institute.
Last month, Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, gave authorities six months to implement the ban order on foreign taxi drivers.
Unofficial estimates put the number of foreign taxi drivers at more than 50,000, a majority of them in the main cities.
Between six and seven million expatriates live and work in the Kingdom which has a population of 22 million.
Unofficial estimates put the unemployment rate among Saudi males at about 15 per cent. Labour and Social Affairs Minister Ali Al-Namlah disclosed recently that there are 3.2 million Saudi job seekers.
The domestic economy has been hampered by an average annual growth rate in the past two decades well below its population growth rate of more than 3.5 per cent.
UNI
http://headlines.sify.com/1424news3.html?
No Indians in jewellery shops, too: Saudi Arabia
Dubai, Nov 9
Close on the heels of its ban on foreign taxi drivers, Saudi Arabia has announced that all jobs in gold and jewellery shops, dominated by Indians, will be taken over by local people by next year.
Saudi Interior Minister Prince Naif, who is also chairman of the Manpower Council, has ordered the total "Saudisation" of jobs in gold and jewellery shops from March 4 next year, Al-Madinah newspaper reports.
The shop owners have also been asked to ensure that 50 per cent of their staff are Saudis by the end of this year.
There are 3,500 expatriates working in the 1,100 gold and jewellery shops in Saudi Arabia and 10,000 skilled workers in the 360 workshops in Jeddah alone.
Last year, the minister had ordered that 30 per cent of jobs in the sector should go to Saudis by the end of 2001, 50 per cent this year and 100 per cent by next year, but the authorities complained to the Prince that shops had reported shortage of Saudi workers.
A group of Saudi businessmen have decided to open an institute to train Saudi youth in skilled jobs related to the manufacture and sale of gold and jewellery, Al-Watan said.
There are about 13,500 jobs available for Saudis in the jewellery sector, according to some studies. Non-Saudi workers, who earn 450 million Saudi Riyals (approximately Rs 570 crore) annually from the industry, hold most of the jobs.
Muhammed Azouz, a member of the gold and jewels committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry and director of the training project at the chamber, said the World Gold Council has expressed interest in the diploma courses to be conducted at the proposed institute.
Last month, Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, gave authorities six months to implement the ban order on foreign taxi drivers.
Unofficial estimates put the number of foreign taxi drivers at more than 50,000, a majority of them in the main cities.
Between six and seven million expatriates live and work in the Kingdom which has a population of 22 million.
Unofficial estimates put the unemployment rate among Saudi males at about 15 per cent. Labour and Social Affairs Minister Ali Al-Namlah disclosed recently that there are 3.2 million Saudi job seekers.
The domestic economy has been hampered by an average annual growth rate in the past two decades well below its population growth rate of more than 3.5 per cent.
UNI