Page 216 - Aamir Rehman - Dubai & Co Global Strategies for Doing Business in the Gulf States-McGraw-Hill (2007)

198 Dubai & Co.

TABLE 7.2
Nationalizing the Private Sector: Policy Measures

Country Sample Policies to Nationalize Workforce
Saudi Arabia ● 2001: Goal set of 25% Saudization in private sector by 2002
● 2003: Nearly 10,000 banking jobs Saudized on accelerated
basis by government decree
● 2005: Law passed raising Saudization targets
● 2007: Target date of 2007 set for achieving 70% Saudization of
overall workforce, with faster Saudization in some sectors 7
UAE ● Companies with 50 or more employees to increase citizens’
share of workforce at 2% annually; targets of 4% and 5%
respectively for banks and insurers 8
● 2006: No new work permits for foreigners seeking secretarial
jobs; existing secretaries allowed to serve out the duration of
their work permits, but permits not to be renewed 9
● December 2007: Deadline for HR and personnel managers
in private sector to be UAE nationals; 18-month grace period
for companies trying to replace foreign managers with local ones
● Government actively promoting entrepreneurship by
nationals, through measures such as SME (small and
medium-sized enterprise) funding in Abu Dhabi and the
Mohammed bin Rashid Establishment for Young Business
Leaders in Dubai 10
Qatar ● Strategic Qatarization plan calls for a 50% nationalization of
the “energy and industry” sector of the economy 11
Bahrain ● Bahrainization accounts for 90% of public-sector jobs and
cannot count on more jobs coming from public sector 12
● Desired results not delivered by previous quota-based system 13
● Recent switch from quotas to more market-based system,
charging a fee on foreign-worker visas and applying the
proceeds to a fund investing in local human capital 14
Kuwait ● 2003: Kuwaitization program for private sector established,
but application of guidelines not flexible 15
Oman ● Since 2000, certain low-skill job categories (e.g., driving taxis)
are reserved for Omani nationals
● Oman recently added 24 more categories to the list 16
● Foreign staff capped at 20% in certain industries; expatriate
work visas granted for 2 years, renewable for up to 4 years 17
● Firms not meeting the Omanization target of their sector
required to hire one Omani to get a work permit for a new
expatriate worker. 18
● Since 1994, a fee equal to 7% of the worker’s annual salary
imposed on the use of foreign labor; fee revenues used as
“training contributions.” 19