The Shoura Council has approved a recommendation to oblige foreign and Saudi owned companies to train and employ at least five percent or more of Saudi nationals annually. The recommendation came during the 15th ordinary session of the Shoura Council which was chaired by Sheikh Dr. Abdullah Bin Muhammad Bin Ibrahim Aal Al-Sheikh on Monday. During the session, members heard a number of other recommendations on the Ministry of Labor report for the fiscal year 1430-31H, and several other subjects. Dr. Muhammad Bin Abdullah Al-Ghamdi, Secretary General, said the council didn't approve a recommendation demanding a setting of minimum wages for Saudi nationals working in the private sector. This was based on the fact that it is not in line with international labor laws which disallows any type of discrimination on the basis of sex or nationality. He also pointed out that the Kingdom is a member of the World Trade Organization and the International Labor Organization and its legal obligations are not in conformity with such recommendation. Several Shoura members argued that setting a minimum wage only for Saudis will have a negative impact on economy. They also said it would increase the cost of hiring Saudis, which would make employers rely more on non-Saudis. In response to the claims some members proposed a minimum wage for certain professions as they are of no interest to Saudis. Meanwhile, the Shoura Council Sunday approved expediting coordination to electronically link the ministries of the interior, foreign affairs and Saudi missions abroad. It ordered Saudi missions to provide utmost assistance to Saudi nationals abroad, particularly during times of crises. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also been ordered to help review the diplomatic corps regulation to keep up with developments in diplomatic work and living standards and conditions. The decisions were made during a discussion of the annual report of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the fiscal year 1430-31H. The Council stressed its decision No.2/2 dated 9/3/1429H to expand in replacing non-Saudi employees in Saudi missions abroad with qualified Saudi youths. It ruled that the Ministry of Labor should support the national employment offices to guarantee their success. It said the ministry's role should not be restricted to merely providing licenses to these offices. The Shoura also approved for the ministry of labor to issue licenses to national recruitment offices until national recruitment companies are established. It also approved the setting of a specific date for receiving recruitment visas during a maximum period of seven working days from the date of submitting the application. Dr. Al-Ghamdi said that the Council listened to the report of the Security Affairs Committee on the memorandum of understanding for military cooperation between the Kingdom and Jordan. It approved the MoU with a majority. In other orders of business the council listened to the Islamic Affairs and Judicial Committee opinions on the annual report of the Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution (BIP) for the fiscal year 1430-31H. It approved the BIP to investigate and prosecute in all cases, to provide financial support and staff as well as create posts of deputy president in which heads of BIP branches will be appointed. Another recommendation which failed to win a majority vote was the call for obliging big state owned companies to directly employ Saudis. The opposing Shoura members said this motion is actually already being implemented with a large percentage in some companies.
