Abdul Munim Al-Shehri, deputy minister for special programs at the Ministry of Labor, emphasized that the ministry is keen on enforcing conditions pertaining to women employment in factories. Such implementation would protect their rights and privacy, along with maintaining their material and moral rights that lead to job stability and quality, he said. During the 6th Industrial Forum held in Hilton Hotel here, the deputy minister uncovered that 47,000 Saudi women workers are working in the industrial sector. Under the auspices of Advisor to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and Makkah Emir Prince Khalid Al Faisal, the forum titled The National Transformation Plan: Towards Industrial Transformation" was attended by Commerce and Industry Minister Dr. Tawfiq Al Rabiah. Al-Shehri said the ministry has sought to invest in Saudi human capital and enhance their participation in national development through increasing employment rates in the private sector. Such endeavors are being realized through implantation of decisions and diverse programs set by MoL, which helped the number of Saudi women employment jump from 60,000 in 2009 to 471,000 workers in 2015, he added. In reference to the ministry's efforts to overcome obstacles, Al-Shehri shed light on the ministry's direction to create a suitable work environment, in addition to setting up baby care centers and regulating working hours in the private sector along others, all of which are in collaboration to employers and private establishments. The five-day forum would review experiences and products coming from Saudi and Gulf entrepreneurs where a total of 24 interactive meetings, sessions and workshops are conducted during the forum from 5 to 9 p.m. Meanwhile, the version focuses on unveiling future opportunities that remain in the labor market, in particular the industrial sector, and recognizing the entities that provide support and funding to stakeholders. Moreover, the forum aims at exploring most crucial challenges encountered by male and female entrepreneurs, as well as exchanging successful experiences and stories at the Gulf level. The industrial sector is one of the vital sectors that have attracted a growing number of Saudi women during the past years as the formidable expansion were due to the Royal Decree on women work in a wide range of sectors, in sync with women nature. In addition to a raft of legal framework, the decrees addressed banning work and industries that jeopardize women's safety, in addition to regulating women employment in factories. The enforcement relating to women working in plants also ensures proper work in the industrial sector including administrative jobs or those in production lines. Furthermore, the ministry issued women's work conditions to regulate their employment in factories and ban women from seeking work in 24 industries, such as construction, Asphalt and mining.
