Haj and Umrah firms given 6 months for Saudization

Haj and Umrah service providing companies have been given six months to Saudize all their managerial and supervisory positions, official sources at the Haj Ministry said Tuesday. The six months have already started on Dec. 1 and will end by May 2012. The Haj Ministry asked the companies to make immediate plans for the substitution of foreigners by Saudis, sources said. The ministry was certain there are many competent and qualified Saudis to take over these jobs. Other sources, however, doubted the instructions of the Haj Ministry would be implemented. They recalled previous unsuccessful attempts of the Haj and Umrah companies to Saudize their managerial staff. According to these sources, the ministry and the Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF) had signed an agreement in 2007 to employ Saudi men and women at Haj and Umrah companies. The agreement stipulates that these companies Saudize all their jobs. The sources said the agreement did not work, as the companies were unwilling to comply. Many Haj and Umrah companies had been forced out of the market, so their Saudi employees had to look for jobs elsewhere. Preparations for the 2012 season have already started. The first groups of Umrah pilgrims are expected to arrive in the Kingdom by late January. The pilgrims who performed Haj this year have until Dec. 10 to leave the country. According to statistics released by the General Authority for Civil Aviation (GACA), a total of 1,391,478 pilgrims have left the Kingdom until Friday, on board 5,454 flights.