Saudi Gazette report RIYADH – The Ministry of Labor will begin an intensive inspection campaign on shops selling women's accessories from July 8. The campaign will be carried out in coordination with related agencies to ensure compliance with a ministerial decision to feminize all shops selling women's accessories, the ministry said in a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency. It said severe penalties will be imposed on shops that violate the decision to employ Saudi women and the conditions laid down by the ministry for these shops. The inspection campaign comes in the second stage of feminizing shops selling women's dresses, abayas and accessories. It is complimentary to the first stage of feminization of lingerie shops. The ministry confirmed that it will employ women in several women's activities in successive stages. The ministry confirmed that if violations are detected in a shop, the firm running the shop will be placed in the red zone of the Nitaqat program. All services provided by the ministry will be stopped in addition to other penalties stipulated in the labor regulations. “The Ministry of Labor confirms that implementation of the second stage of the decision to organize women's work in shops selling women's accessories is compulsory, as it is considered to be a national program with the intention of employing Saudi women. This will be through gradual expansion in employing Saudi women in lingerie shops that ought to be feminized in implementation of the royal order restricting work in lingerie shops to Saudi women, especially since the decision aims to provide a suitable environment for Saudi working women,” the statement said. The ministry called on owners of all specialized shops to implement the decision before the July 7 (Sha'aban 28) deadline.
