Egypt Blacklists 'Rogue' Saudi Employers

By The Media Line News Agency

Egypt is prohibiting its nationals from working for several Saudi companies, which Cairo says, mistreat their employees.

The Ministry of Manpower and Immigration has blacklisted 26 Saudi companies in the public and private sector, according to the Egyptian daily Al-Ma'sri Al-Yawm.

Minister of Manpower and Immigration 'Aisha 'Abd Al-Hadi said the new regulation did not apply to existing contracts between these companies and Egyptian nationals unless both parties agreed to cancel the deal.

The list has been sent to the Egyptian consulate in Saudi Arabia, to advisers in Jedda and Riyadh and to employment agencies in Egypt, in order to prevent any deals being signed with these companies.

The number of blacklisted companied is expected to rise over the next few days.

The latest development was sparked by a case of two Egyptian doctors who have been sentenced to prison and lashes in Saudi Arabia on the grounds of medical malpractice.

Egyptian doctors are calling on Cairo to sever diplomatic ties with the Saudi kingdom after Riyadh refused to accede to the demands of human-rights organizations and professional associations to pardon the doctors.

The Egyptian Doctors' Association is calling on doctors to shun job offers in Saudi Arabia.

The low pay for doctors in Egypt prompts many of them to seek work outside the country, including in Saudi Arabia.

Observers say the government does not want to get involved in the case of the two doctors because the person treated was connected to the ruling family and there were political undertones to the case.

Several civil society organizations have criticized the government in Cairo for failing to defend Egyptians subjected to rights violations abroad.

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry denies these accusations and says protection of its citizens outside of Egypt is a top priority.

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