51 Cell Phone Shops Closed

Image Caption: Inspectors from Ministry of Labor and Social Development paste a closure notice on a cell phone shop in Riyadh. — Courtesy photo

Warning issued to 314 shop owners

Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — Inspection teams have shut down 51 cell phone shops for failing to comply with the Saudization regulations. In addition, 28 shop owners have been issued notices of a shutdown if they do not recruit Saudis to run their business, Saudi Press Agency reported.

The Ministry of Labor and Social Developments regulations stipulate that all cell phone shops must be run by Saudi workers all over the Kingdom.

The ministry’s inspection teams have run 1,975 visits since the start of the second phase of Saudization which began this lunar month. Over 314 violations have been registered, of which 312 have been referred to pertinent committees for penalties.

The visits were run in conjunction with representatives from the ministries of interior, municipal and rural affairs, commerce and investment, and the Communications and Information Technology Commission.
Compliance with Saudization rules has reached 95 percent, up from 20 percent at the beginning of the inspection campaign.

“This percentage proves that the first phase of Saudization has achieved the sought-after objective. We will continue inspection visits across the country and impose penalties on violators,” said Dr. Fahd Al-Owaidy, undersecretary for inspection and work environment development at the Ministry of Labor and Social Development.

He stressed that all pertinent government agencies should cooperate and help the ministry in order to Saudize the entire sector and give Saudis a chance to contribute to the national economy through this vital sector.

(Source: SaudiGazette.com.sa)