Harry Cook and Michael Newson
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780190608873
- eISBN:
- 9780190848484
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190608873.003.0007
- Subject:
- Sociology, Migration Studies (including Refugee Studies)
In 2013, the Saudi government embarked on a nationwide strategy to restructure its labor market and its policies towards the recruitment of foreign workers. These changes are in line with the ...
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In 2013, the Saudi government embarked on a nationwide strategy to restructure its labor market and its policies towards the recruitment of foreign workers. These changes are in line with the implementation of Saudi Arabia’s Nitaqat system which aims to better regulate foreign labor in the country and to reduce the number of irregular workers in the Kingdom. As a result of these changes in policy and implementation, there have been large-scale deportations of irregular workers—along with their family members, in some cases—from KSA beginning in mid-2013 and continuing up to the time of writing. Yemeni workers in KSA have been particularly hard hit by these policy changes due to the largely informal nature of labor migration flows that have existed between KSA and Yemen for the past few decades. This chapter explores the possible implications of the recent labor policy changes in KSA for Yemeni and host communities in KSA, as well as for returning workers, their families, and communities of origin in Yemen. The chapter concludes with several recommendations on how to effectively address the challenges these disruptions will cause and how to build new avenues to support the transnational linkages between Yemeni migrant workers in KSA and their communities in Yemen.Less
In 2013, the Saudi government embarked on a nationwide strategy to restructure its labor market and its policies towards the recruitment of foreign workers. These changes are in line with the implementation of Saudi Arabia’s Nitaqat system which aims to better regulate foreign labor in the country and to reduce the number of irregular workers in the Kingdom. As a result of these changes in policy and implementation, there have been large-scale deportations of irregular workers—along with their family members, in some cases—from KSA beginning in mid-2013 and continuing up to the time of writing. Yemeni workers in KSA have been particularly hard hit by these policy changes due to the largely informal nature of labor migration flows that have existed between KSA and Yemen for the past few decades. This chapter explores the possible implications of the recent labor policy changes in KSA for Yemeni and host communities in KSA, as well as for returning workers, their families, and communities of origin in Yemen. The chapter concludes with several recommendations on how to effectively address the challenges these disruptions will cause and how to build new avenues to support the transnational linkages between Yemeni migrant workers in KSA and their communities in Yemen.
