Saudi Gazette report JEDDAH — The Minister of Commerce and Industry Dr. Tawfiq Al-Rabiah stated that a well known Makkah bakery is employing minors to produce bread, a daily newspaper reported. The bakery was also found to be manipulating bread weight.The deputy Minister for consumer affairs, Dr. Fahad Jalajel said that a report was prepared on the incident, and a number of penalties were issued. He pointed out that the Ministry had received information about the abuse. The head of the Bakeries Committee at Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), Fayez Hamadah, said that the bakery has employed boys during the Haj season, due to the great shortage of workers. The shortage is caused by the amnesty program on residency status. This has caused a large number of worker to leave the country, and caused a shortage of workers in many sectors, including bakeries. He pointed out that the committee has asked the minister of labor to exclude bakery workers during the Haj season, as bakeries are in great need of temporary workers during Haj. He stressed that the committee was also prepared to issue the necessary health licenses for these temporary workers. He added that employing minors is against all international standards, and that a mechanism in required to recruit temporary workers, without the need to utilize illegal residents. The general manager of GSFMO, Waleed Al-Kheraiji, said that during an inspection tour of a number of bakeries in Makkah, he discovered that a bakery was employing 50 boys that were under 13 years old. In addition, the bakery was employing 36 workers without identifications, 40 workers who are not sponsored by the bakery, and 126 workers of different nationalities. He pointed out that employing minors is against human rights principles, and that the bakery may be penalized by depriving it from its share of GSFMO flour. He added that bakery lacks hygiene, and that it produces bread in the toilets and lacks the proper ventilation. The bakery also places the bread in dirty boxes outside the bakery, and these boxes are subject to contamination. The in-charge of the Al Kaki bakery denied that they were employing boys, and the minimum age of these workers is 14. In addition, they all have the required health certificate, and most of them are relatives of workers in the bakery. They are working under normal conditions, and wearing the required uniforms, and they are not subjected to any hazards. Meanwhile, bakeries in Jeddah, Makkah, Madinah, and Taif are producing millions of bread loaves a day. There are more than 1,200 bakeries, employing more than 20,000 workers, only half of whom are legal residents. Makkah bakeries are working around the clock, and are producing more than 6 million loaves a day.
