“Runaway” reports that employers can file against foreign workers who stop showing up to their jobs — effectively rendering them fugitives — will be abolished and replaced with a procedure for ending their contract, Alharbi said in an interview Wednesday.
The new rules will come into effect on March 14 and apply to all foreign workers in the private sector, regardless of salary, he said.
The changes could have a dramatic impact on Saudi Arabia’s labor market and the lives of the 10.5 million foreign workers who make up about a third of the kingdom’s population.