THE minister of Labor Mufarrij Al-Hugbani announced lately that they have issued over 140 initiatives to develop the job market. These initiatives aim at controlling the job market, providing more job opportunities for Saudi youth, enhancing the job conditions for women, supporting young entrepreneurs, and protecting the rights of expatriates working in the Kingdom. The Saudi job market has 11.9 million employees and workers, 4.9 millions of which are Saudis. Up to 49 percent of the Saudi employees have bachelor degrees, 41 percent of them are married and 65% of them are below 39 years of age. The unemployment rate is now 11.6% among Saudis, during the first half of this year up to 682,000 Saudis were looking for jobs according to figures released by the ministry. Wage protection system: By November 2015 all companies with 100 employees or more are required to register with the Wage Protection System and submit files to the Ministry of Labor specifying the wages of their employees. The aim of this system is to ensure that all employees are receiving their salaries without any delay and based on agreed and specified amounts. Nitaqat: This system aims at categorizing companies based on the number of Saudis they train and employ. The system helped employ over 560,000 Saudis in different private sector establishments that are over 1,700,000 companies. The Human Resource Development Fund (HRDF) provides training for Saudi youth through registration at the National Labor Gate, which had 228,000 visitors lately, it then links them to the job market. The main challenge still facing the Saudi market is the absence of attractive job opportunities in the private sector and the still low participation of women in the jobs market said a ministry statement. Labor Investigation System: The ministry issued a new system to organize and put regulations in place methodically and permissions were given to the Ministry of Labor officials who tour different private sector establishments to document violations. The new law prevents the investigators from taking any humiliating actions against workers or preventing them from moving around in their workplace, it also banned them from asking for documents that are irrelevant to the investigation process. Women in the Job Market: The ministry aims at reducing the gap between men and women in the job market by offering flexible work conditions and encouraging nurseries and transportation which shall attract women to work for private sector jobs. Further the ministry expressed its support to over 780,000 establishments that are owned by women. It further provides aid to productive family projects, which are mainly owned by women. Trainees in the Private Sector: The ministry has finalized a system that will organize the wage provided to trainees at different private sector companies. The system is to be put into action after taking into consideration the views of those involved or interested in the system. The views are to be presented through a special ministry's link entitled Maan (Together).
