Saudi Arabia Expels Thousands of Yemeni Workers

Local Editor

Impoverished Yemen faces new instability with thousands of its nationals working in Saudi Arabia being expelled after the kingdom issued new labor laws to tackle its own employment crisis.

Officials in Sanaa confirmed that thousands of Yemeni expatriates had been deported in recent days after a controversial change in the Saudi labor law, officially designed to curb the "overwhelming number of foreign workers flooding the country" - the majority of whom are Yemenis.

Yemeni workers have seen their residency permits torn up by Saudi officials, AFP reported.

The Yemen Post newspaper decried what it called a "witch-hunt". The Yemeni defense ministry's website estimated that up to 2,000 Yemenis had been deported daily since the regulations went into effect late last month.
An estimated 800,000 to 1 million Yemenis live in neighboring Saudi Arabia, remitting about $4bn annually.

The amendment to Saudi Arabia's labor law stipulates that foreign workers are forbidden from running their own business and must remain strictly linked to their original sponsors for all work-related activities.

It means that Yemenis who sought employment other than that provided by their sponsor, or after they left their initial sponsor, now face deportation. Yemeni sources have warned that up to 300,000 people could be expelled.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by moqawama.org