JEDDAH — The Ministry of Labor will start employing Saudi women in new shops specifically dealing with women's accessories, abayas and dresses after six months. However, perfume and eyeglasses shops have been exempted from the new policy which would gradually work on feminizing the sector, said Fahad Al-Tekhaifi, Deputy Minister of Labor and General Supervisor of Employment of Women in the private sector. The ministry will be working with the private sector to implement the new strategy to provide employment to Saudi women. It aims at providing an easy working environment for women, which includes providing a nursery section at malls and also taking care of transportation issues. The strategy, the ministry hopes, would create more jobs for Saudi nationals who will be required to work at nurseries and at transportation companies meant for women. Al-Tekhaifi was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the 4th Jeddah Human Resources Forum here, Sunday. When asked about men already working in these shops, Al-Tekhaifi said business owners have other branches that do not adhere to this system and also have administrative positions where they can be relocated. “When we talk about employment we focus on Saudization and we do not exclude Saudi men,” he added. Shop owners, he said, need to organize their tasks. Major companies have managed to provide an ideal work environment for women. Regarding foreign companies, the official said, they will have to abide by the rules of the country. The ministry teams, he added, will be conducting tours around all factories in the Kingdom to ensure implementation of the Royal Order to employ Saudi women in jobs that are convenient and adequate. Some factories in Jeddah and Riyadh have already employed women and have successful experiences, some even managed to employ more Saudi women compared to expatriate men, added Al-Tekhaifi. The ministry, he added, will start approving part time jobs for Saudi women. The ministry has also sent new working hours in shops and malls to the higher authorities for approval. Speakers at the third session of the second day of the forum discussed the challenges facing private companies in employing Saudis. Business owners and managers stated that they tend to train Saudis who leave their jobs after they get a better offer or a job that demands less efforts. Speakers and participants complained that there was an absence of training institutes that can provide qualified Saudis who are fit to take over different vocational jobs available in the market. Several participants said the private sector sees some Saudis as not showing interest in working for long hours, a clear lack of passion and dislike for field work. Contractors who rely mainly on expatriates to complete their projects have some reservations regarding the new ministry decision to impose an annual fine of SR2,400 for every extra non-Saudi employee. Abdullah Ridwan, head of the contractors committee at Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, criticized the absence of training institutes to train Saudis to work in jobs provided by contracting companies. Ridwan also expressed his dismay at the decision to cut expenses from companies' budget keeping in mind the Nitaqat system which, he said, employs Saudis “based on their national identity and not based on qualifications”. Ibrahim Al-Muaquili answered back by saying that the private sector should tackle part of the responsibility of Saudization of the jobs and rehabilitation and training of Saudis even if that includes establishing new training institutes.
