Private sector: Vampires of Yemeni youths’ potential energy [Archives:2005/865/Business & Economy]

By Abdulwahab Alsofi
Hodeidah
[email protected]
For the Yemen Times
Yemeni employees pluck the roses and foreigner's employees smell them. The owners of the private establishments and companies, especially shipping companies, should have some mercy and encourage young Yemeni graduates to apply for vacancies in their companies. Foreigners' employees occupy good vacancies. They are not only given high salaries in dollars, but are also glorified and promoted as managers.

At the same time, many qualified graduates of colleges are not employed, who possess much potential energy. Instead, the government forces the private sector to be responsible in containing these native graduates; it permits merchants to bring foreigners employees to be replaced by citizens.

What is a pity is that these foreigners are paid high wages in Dollars. If any citizen is lucky and accepted to work, he / she will receive 20,000-riyal maximum as salary in spite of whether he/she can replace a foreign employee and work honestly. Yemeni graduates, accepted for a job, are exploited and assaulted. They sometimes do not get a testimonial or any lease from their companies they worked in after resigning. Nobody can have happiness at the expense of the misery of others.

The majorities of private establishments' owners deal with their employees as if they were slaves and thieve from their company. Despite this, they give Yemeni employees bad and hard jobs.

More so, they infringe their rights. We would rather starve to death than live as slaves. This is because we, as Yemeni employees, are destitute of justice.

Let us narrate the sad reality of a friend who was a colleague in a company. He did not achieve any accomplishments in his life, except his loyal service to this company. He sacrificed half of his life to the company in which he was working. He got neither married nor did he provide a generous life for his family.

When he was 45 years old, while his employer was tantalizing the notion of marriage; and he saw a glimmer of hope to get married, he died. Mohamed A. Saeed, the victim of his employer was very poor. He was only receiving Yr 10000 as a monthly salary. He was working from early in the morning until nine in the evening. Yet he did not save even the cost of his grave-clothes and burial. More so, he was endeibted to the company about Yr 40000.

Another employee, Khaled, resigned from the company, hoping to get his release from the company and a good testimonial. This was unlikely, and he did receive neither release nor a testimonial. Meaning he has no legality to join another company. Does the Human Rights Organization know about these people? If so, what will it do for them?

What calls for sadness is that the labor and affairs office did share the employers and sold employees rights against trivial bribes paid monthly. It is an extortion practiced on employees in the private sectors under the responsible umbrella. In myuopinion, there is a top secret regarding this matter.

Either our businesspersons in Yemen were tempted by foreigners' agencies which are against Islam, or they are disloyal to their country. Besides,uYemeni employees in the private sector do not have any governmental assistance or support. Then, who will rescue those from such aggression and oppression. They have nothing but law that is abeyant and inactivated.

On the other hand, this sector could absorb the employments if it was well exploited. Yet unemployment is increasing year by year. The average person's income is not only lagging, it is the worst amongst our neighboring countries. Yemeni employers frustrate Yemeni youth who consider the future of Yemen, whereas government officials open one eye at this matter and close the other at the merchant's desires.

Otherwise, how do the services' sector, mainly the private sector, develop and reach the level of other countries in these circumstances? On going with this policy, Yemen never prospers. Unfortunately, our principals know this bad situation but ignore it. We must invest human potential energy to build a progressive Yemen. They still have a chance to work for Yemen and we are still waiting for this period. We are optimistic. We do not need to remember our past faults as far as we look forward to making a modern Yemen. To fall into sin is human; to remain in sin is devilish. Peace upon you…
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