JEDDAH: The General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI) has revealed that it plans to suspend all services to expatriates if they are abroad for over a month, with reinstatement occurring only once they return.
The organization had not yet worked out the manner in which this would occur, but talks were taking place with the Ministry of Interior, said Abdul Aziz Al-Habdan, GOSI’s deputy governor, during a briefing at the Eastern Province Chamber of Commerce and Industry recently.
Al-Habdan was quoted as saying by a local publication that because of the large number of foreign workers in the country, the organization was working to introduce electronic services for companies and their employees. Currently 50 percent of subscribers conduct their transactions in person, he said.
On the wage protection issue, Al-Habdan said that there were some employers registering workers earning less than they do in reality, in an attempt to pay less to the fund. This also affects eventual payouts to workers, he said.
He dismissed reports that children of Saudi women married to foreigners do not benefit from the social insurance system, in reference to the decision taken by the government recently to include them as beneficiaries.
Al-Habdan said that people taking early retirement was having a negative financial impact on GOSI. However, changes were in the pipeline to change this situation, he said.
In response to the organization not disclosing and publishing its financial results, he said: “The rights of subscribers are guaranteed and maintained by the state. Our policy is heading toward further clarification and disclosure.”
He said GOSI now covers 400,000 companies compared to 25,000 over 12 years ago, with 8.5 million workers, compared to 2 million going back over the same period.
According to the GOSI website, the scheme covers workers in the private sector and a group of workers in public sector.
It provides contributors and their families “with a decent life after leaving work due to retirement, disability or death; medical care for contributors afflicted with work injuries or occupational diseases; and compensation in the event of occupational disability or death.”
Expats face GOSI cuts if they stay abroad for over one month
Expats face GOSI cuts if they stay abroad for over one month
Saudi, Pakistan defense chiefs discuss ‘measures needed to halt’ Iranian attacks on Kingdom
RIYADH: Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman and Pakistan’s Chief of Defense Forces Asim Munir discussed Iran’s attacks on the Kingdom, amid the escalating military conflict in the Middle East.
“We discussed Iranian attacks on the Kingdom and the measures needed to halt them within the framework of our Joint Strategic Defense Agreement,” Prince Khalid wrote on social media early on Saturday.
“We stressed that such actions undermine regional security and stability and expressed hope that the Iranian side will exercise wisdom and avoid miscalculation.”
The US and Israel began a large-scale military campaign against Iran on Feb. 28. Iran has since attacked a number of sites across the Gulf.
Tehran has also attacked US and Israeli military assets as the war as escalated, impacting lives in the peaceful Arabian Gulf peninsula and risked shaking the global economy as Iran continued restricting energy shipping along the Strait of Hormuz.
The Saudi Defense Ministry said a number of drones had been shot down that were targeting the Shayba oil field in the Empty Quarter on Saturday.
A drone attacked the US embassy in Riyadh on Tuesday causing a minor fire, but no one was hurt in the incident.
Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed a “Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement” in September, pledging that aggression against one country would be treated as an attack on both.
Separately, Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif, the Saudi interior minister, received a call from his Pakistani counterpart Raza Naqvi, who condemned the blatant attacks targeting the Kingdom and affirmed his country’s solidarity in confronting any threats to the Kingdom’s security and stability, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Saturday.
