Saudi Minister of Labor cancels yellow category of Nitaqat system

The Saudi Minister of Labor and Social Development, Ahmed bin Suleiman Al Rajhi, issued a decision to cancel the yellow category of Nitaqat system and transmit all establishments to the red category.

The decision will be effective starting from Jan. 27, 2020.

The decision aims to encourage establishments under this category to move to the green category or higher, which increases nationalization, provides more job opportunities to Saudi nationals and makes all services by the ministry available for them, according to a statement by the ministry.

Both red and yellow categories, known as unsafe categories, included establishments that haven’t reach the required nationalization level. The ministry's services are limited to establishments that achieve nationalization rates in the green category and higher and effectively contribute to the employment of Saudis.

According to the ministry's definition of the categories, the yellow category includes entities that did not achieve the required nationalization ratio, while the red category contains the lowest and worst entities in nationalization.