Unknown Contractors in the Construction Sector
Eng. Laith Al-Shibl
A negative and foreign phenomenon has emerged in the labor market through the exploitation of incentives granted to investors. For example, there are those who open a business license in their wife’s name in just 5 minutes without a feasibility study for the proposed project, and no details regarding the value of the contracts, which puts the financier’s capital at risk—especially since some of these entities lack experts and specialists in the field, and their work is not reviewed by accredited engineering firms, and, unfortunately, paperwork is often mixed up to put pressure on workers, especially if they are day laborers who do not have formal contracts with their employers.
These fictitious entities engage in various forms of enticement and deception, and evade accountability for unfulfilled work—except for the 30% fee— resulting in the collection of 60% from the value of the victim project’s statement of account resulting from commercial fronting. Thus, responsibility falls on the consumer and the contractor; therefore, the relevant authorities, such as the Saudi Council of Engineers and the Contractors Authority, must tighten oversight of such violations, organize inspection tours of private and public projects, and impose fines or refer stalled cases to the appropriate legislative or regulatory body based on the nature and type of violation—especially since many institutions lack specialized labor and licensed engineers.
Care must be taken to enforce rules and regulations so that contracting firms provide the required services with high quality and professionalism, and fulfill their obligations to their clients by providing trained workers and qualified engineers, with their details prominently displayed on the company’s website.
The company must also require its employees to carry identification cards that clearly state the worker’s name, identity, experience, and date of hire, without violating any regulations.
@Laith55333
