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(MENAFN - Arab News) Inspection rounds made by government officers to limit labor breaches have pushed people working under sponsors other than their own to submit their resignation from their jobs, resulting in the refusal of some employers to pay them their dues under the pretext they don't have sponsors.

RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia will take new steps, including jail terms for small business owners and the hiring of 1,000 inspectors, to crack down on foreigners working illegally in the world's top oil exporter, Labour Minister Adel al-Fakieh said.

GCC countries will soon pass a law regulating foreign labor in the Gulf countries, including returning to their home countries “marginal” and unskilled foreign workers, a Gulf official said.

Eighty-two Indians working for a private contracting firm in Riyadh have been left stranded without food and water after their employer reneged on paying their salaries for three months.

After the recent crackdown on illegal workers and the king’s announcement of a three-month grace period for transferring iqamas, worried expatriates of different nationalities have been gathering at their consulates seeking help.

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia will take new  steps, including jail terms for small business owners and the  hiring of 1,000 inspectors, to crack down on foreigners working  illegally in the world's top oil exporter, Labour Minister Adel al-Fakieh said.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is expected to soon pass a law to regulate foreign labour in member countries, similar to the one passed by Saudi Arabia that seeks to reserve 10 percent jobs for locals, foreign media reports said.

Remittances earned by illegal workers cost Saudi Arabia 10 percent of its GDP during the decade to 2002, according to research by a Saudi economist.