Saudi Gazette DAMMAM — Saudi Labor Minister Mufarrej Al-Haqbani has called upon foreign missions to put a stop on their visits to private sector companies on receiving complaints from workers of their respective countries. It is against the protocols and things should move through proper channels. The minister was addressing a symposium on "Employment Opportunities for Men and Women in the Kingdom" at the Eastern Province Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Dammam on Sunday. "It has become a practice of many of the embassies to rush to the premises of private sector units immediately after receiving complaints from their respective nationals," he said, adding, "We in the Kingdom are committed to protecting the interest of all workers be it a foreigner or national. There is no discrimination in this regard." He urged foreign missions to stop this practice and deal with the problem through proper channels as prescribed in the system. He said Article 77 of the labor law does not allow any embassy to visit the premises of companies on receipt of complaints. The minister also clarified that he has no knowledge of Indian government request of fixing a minimum wage of SR1,500 per month for its workers. It has been reported in a section of the media that the Indian government has insisted on fixing a minimum wage of SR1,500 for Indian workers in the Kingdom. The minister denied reports that there were discrimination against women. He claimed that the proportion of male-female employees in government agencies was fast reaching 50:50. He said that the unemployment rate in the Kingdom stood at 5.5 percent. Out of that female's unemployment was reaching 32.8 percent, which was higher than expected. He, however, gave several reasons for this trend, such as unsafe environment and various other sociological compulsions. He said that male unemployment has drastically dropped. The ministry is currently working on making the private sector create an ideal environment to attract women in various economic sectors. He called for support of women's work, pointing out that the ministry is moving strongly toward increasing the contribution of the female element in the labor market. He said that the ministry has launched several initiatives to create job opportunities for women. Al-Haqbani disclosed that the ministry is moving toward outsourcing the management colleges and technical institutes to the private sector.
