The Makkah Construction Committee summarized the obstacles facing the construction sector into four key areas in preparation for presenting them to Minister of Labor Dr. Adel Faqih during his upcoming visit to the Makkah Chamber of Commerce., This took place during a meeting of committee members chaired by Abdullah Saidi.
Committee member Saif Al-Turki said that the most prominent obstacles are related to the increase in the Saudization rate, particularly under the new Nitaqat program, which sets the rate at 16 percent for medium-sized establishments, and 13 percent for small enterprises, extending to the high “green” tier, which reduces this percentage to 3 percent for jobs in the construction sector, given that most of these positions are purely technical and administrative roles account for no more than 5 percent.
Al-Turki identified the second problem as the Ministry of Labor’s mechanism for calculating the construction sector’s recruitment needs by allocating one worker per 500 m², proposing instead to allocate 25 professionals and workers for the same designated area, with one worker allocated for each profession required by the construction sector.
Al-Turki added: There is no solution to the problem of high fees for renewing and issuing work permits for workers—which amount to 2,500 riyals—except by reducing the fee to 100 riyals to protect the interests of companies and ensure that the costs of construction companies’ services do not rise. He proposed the idea of establishing a training institute Saudis to qualify them and achieve professional Saudization.
Members of the Construction Committee at the Makkah Chamber of Commerce agreed to establish a federation that brings contractors together under its umbrella through a notarized, non-binding agreement with the aim of exchanging expertise and technical personnel, preparing standardized contracts, and establishing a company to provide skilled labor through daily and monthly leasing arrangements.
For his part, Saud Al-Saadi, a member of the Makkah Chamber of Commerce Council, stressed the importance of the Ministry understanding the sector’s problems, which are now threatened by the stalling and suspension of ongoing projects—including the irrational rise in labor wages from 65 riyals per day to 150 riyals, emphasizing that the sector has been plagued by the problem of workers employed on its behalf through no fault of classified contracting companies. He proposed the idea of establishing a company to lease skilled labor with the participation of owners and investors in the contracting sector to provide legal and skilled labor to meet the aspirations of the Ministry of Labor and security agencies in combating front companies and the employment of workers in violation of residency and labor regulations. He noted that the committee has coordinated with the College of Engineering at Umm al-Qura University to prepare a scientific field study determining the actual labor needs of construction companies, as a neutral and scientific body, with the aim of presenting the study to the relevant authorities to convince them that the criteria they have established for determining workforce numbers do not reflect reality.
For his part, Abdullah Saidi, the committee chairman, proposed studying specialization among construction companies to overcome the labor crisis and rising wages, so that there would be companies specializing in only one or two fields within the sectors of painting, construction, electrical work, and plumbing.
Committee member Ahmed Zqzouq raised questions about graduates of technical institutes and the output of the Technical Education and Vocational Training Corporation, calling for it to become an active partner in addressing the shortage of skilled labor in the construction sector, by beginning to train young people in high-income professions that form the backbone of factory work, noting that foreign workers earn more than 7,000 riyals in aluminum production at an aluminum factory.
