By Abdullah Rubay'an
Whenever I attend an event discussing national development, I hear people say, “We want ideas outside the box.” However, I do not really know what kind of ideas it is that they require. Is every good idea an idea outside the box? I think most of our economic problems are simple and only need logical and simple solutions. Unfortunately, many senior officials do not believe this is the case and spend their entire time searching for ideas outside the box without actually being able to find them.
Development can be achieved by implementing certain strategies in a systematic order. We have to set priorities and plans to translate these priorities into reality. Development is a process that follows a chronological order.
I hope the newly-appointed Minister of Labor and Social Development reviews Article 77 of the Labor Law, which allows companies to dismiss Saudi employees and pay them 15 days for each year that they have been in employment. This condition applies to contracts that are for unlimited periods. If the contract was for a definite period, then the dismissed Saudi employee should be paid the full amount he would have been paid for the remaining term of the contract.
I am not saying that a negligent Saudi employee should not be dismissed. However, we have to think carefully. According to the Ministry of Labor, the Saudi workforce in the private sector represents less than 17 percent of the total workforce in the sector. The logical action we should take is to dismiss expatriate workers because they account for 83 percent of the private sector workforce. The solution is simple.
Another problem that needs simple solutions is housing. No perfect solution has yet been found; all that the ministry has done is to make promises that have never materialized. I think the imposition of taxes on undeveloped urban land is a step in the right direction. It is also a real test for the ministry, which should impose taxes on all violators without exception.
A third problem is the way the Kingdom is criticized every time certain things happen. The recent stampede at Panda stores all over the country is not something that happens exclusively in the Kingdom. During the Christmas and New Year periods in other countries, we often see members of the public push and shove one another in order to get bargains.
These stampedes will continue to happen because they are governed by a well-known consumer rule: “More is preferred over less.” I think what other chains of supermarkets in the Kingdom should worry about is how they are going to retain customers and keep them loyal. With the huge sales at Panda stores, Panda Retail has expanded its customer database.
