JCCI Chairman Saleh Kamel (fifth from left), Head of Labor Office in Jeddah Abdullah Al-Alyan, consulate officials and Consuls General of Pakistan, Egypt, Philippines, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Indonesia and India attend a function at JCCI in Jeddah on Wednesday. – SG photo
Fatima Muhammad
Saudi Gazette
JEDDAH – Officials and Consuls General of seven countries from where the bulk of foreigners arrive in the Kingdom for work expressed concern that with the advent of the holy month of Ramadan the status correction work might slowdown.
At a function organized at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) on Wednesday to launch the ‘support program’ for the campaign to rectify the labor and residency status, Consuls General of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, Philippines, Ethiopia, and officials from Indonesia and India called for speedy process to help serve thousands of expatriates seeking rectification of work or queuing up for fingerprinting at Tarheel (deportation center).
Earlier this month, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah gave expat workers another four months to obtain legal status in the country a day before a previous three-month amnesty expired, bringing respite to hundreds of thousands of expatriates who fear deportation.
A website to receive the applications of expatriate jobseekers was also launched on the occasion in cooperation with the Labor Office in Jeddah and the Passports Department.
The website will seve as a bridge connecting expatriates from different professions with sponsors, said JCCI Chairman Saleh Kamel. Job seekers will be linked to 67,000 JCCI members, he said at a press conference at Business Development Center (Al-Masfaq.) Al-Masfaq, which means “where deals take place,” is a business center, a sub division of the JCCI that will start functioning officially after a month. The center, explained Kamel, will be an open area that provides legal advise to business owners by helping them find trade partners, rebuild their failing businesses and start businesses from scratch.
The center will be the home for the expatriates employment campaign, which will help Green Zone companies find expatriates. The new campaign announced by JCCI in cooperation with different consulates and the participation of the ministry of labor will collect data from various consulates and place it online for easy access. It is expected that 500,000 will benefit from the service.
Bangladesh Consul General Md. Nazmul Islam said that his mission has helped some 250,000 Bangladeshis get new passports or travel documents. He, however, sought the help of JCCI to speed-up the rectification process at Jawazat and Tarheel. Echoing his concerns, Pakistan Consul General Aftab Khokher said that only 2,500 of his people were able to be fingerprinted. Philippines Consul General Uriel Garibay said that 130,000 Filipinos approached them, but only 532 could leave for home. Some 5,500 are still waiting to leave and 1,000 are stuck as they do not have iqamas. Consul (Commercial) India Madan Kumar Ghildiyal said that his mission issued 24,000 travel documents and also helped 4,000 Indians get jobs through job fairs. Egyptian, Ethiopian and Indonesian CGs expressed thanks to the King for extending the amnesty and the JCCI for providing expatriate database for recruiters.
