Saudi Gazette report JEDDAH — A worker's annual vacation salary should also include transport allowance, according to the director of the Information Center and Spokesman of the Ministry of Labor Tayseer Al-Mufrij. As per Article 220 of the labor regulation, a worker should file a complaint with the pertinent labor authorities if his employer does not give him his transportation allowance along with his annual vacation salary, Al-Mufrij was quoted as saying by Al-Madina Arabic daily on Saturday. He said the new amendments approved recently by the Council of Ministers will come into effect six months after the announcement in the official gazette. The Cabinet approved 38 amendments to the labor regulations. According to the amendments, a worker's leave when his wife gives birth has been extended to three days from one day. A worker will get five days' leave instead of three days in case of the death of his/her wife or husband. Marriage leave has been extended to five days instead of three days. According to the new amendments, a working woman has the right to space out her fully paid maternity leave the way she likes. It starts with a maximum of four weeks before the likely date of delivery. She has the right to extend the leave for one month without pay. This will not affect her entitlement or payment for annual leave. The period of financial assistance for a work-related injury has been increased from 30 days to 60 days. The leave for “Iddah” (the period a Muslim woman must observe after the death of her spouse or after a divorce) is four months and 10 days for a woman whose husband has died.
