The big decision taken by Saudi Arabia will be of great benefit to the Indians

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia has made an important decision to allow concessions in contracts for foreign artisans. Under it, foreign artisans will be able to change their jobs while living in Saudi Arabia. The announcement was made by the Saudi Ministry of Human Resources. The Saudi decision will take effect in March next year.

Abdullah bin Nasir, Saudi Arabia's deputy minister of human resources, told reporters on Wednesday that foreign workers could now leave Saudi Arabia without the employer's approval. Employer means who owns where the job is. Nasir said the Saudi decision was made to make the labor market more attractive, so as to attract foreign workers.

Now foreign artisans can change their jobs, the Ministry of Human Resources said. The Saudis could come their own way. The employer cannot keep anyone's visa. In Saudi Arabia, it is called the Kafala system, under which the employer had the right not to allow foreign workers to change jobs and to leave the country at their own discretion. One crore foreign artisans, one-third of the total population of Saudi Arabia, will benefit from the reform of the Kafala system.

Qatar is set to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Seeing this, Qatar has also liberalized labor laws. Human rights activists say Saudi Arabia's new reform will benefit foreign artisans, but needs to be scrapped altogether.

Roth Begum, a researcher at Human Rights Watch, told Al Jazeera that it was still necessary for traveling artisans to be able to go to Saudi only if they were sponsored by someone. It will still be under the control of the employer.

Under the Saudi fleet system, traveling artisans have no right to escape exploitation by their employer, as they did not have the right to leave the country or change jobs, arbitrarily dealing with foreign artisans. They have to work longer hours. The employer is reluctant to pay the salary.

Improvements to the caravan are part of Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's Vision 2030. Salman wants Saudi Arabia to become an important destination for foreign investors and the development of the private sector. At the same time, the Saudi economy's dependence on oil could be reduced.