Madinah mewspaper

I must first thank the Ministry of Labor’s media center for keeping the public up to date with the latest developments and decisions that the ministry takes. I hope the media centers of other ministries follow suit.

Khalid Aba Al-Khail, the ministry’s spokesman, said the ministry found 5,919 violations relating to Saudization and female employment in women’s accessory shops. Some 21,531 shops have complied with Saudization requirements and rules pertaining to employing women, while 5,325 warnings have been issued to shops.

The ministry has introduced several programs to help women adapt to work life. This includes programs such as “Qurrah” and “Wusool.” The former encourages mothers employed in the private sector to continue working with the peace of mind that their children are in good hands at child day care centers and nurseries. Mothers that are seeking jobs in the Saudi labor market can also enroll their children at such centers.

The Wusool program aims to reduce the cost of travelling for women who work in the private sector and ensure that they have stability when at work. In partnership with transportation companies, transport is provided to and from work.

Despite all of these programs and initiatives, many employers complain that most female employees are unprofessional and do not complete their tasks properly. Some employers say this costs them financially while others complain that most Saudi women quit without prior notice. Others complain that female workers show up late and in many cases do not show up at all.

I believe that women act like this because they feel that the law protects them. It should be admitted that only women who work in big businesses stay at work because of the training and self-development courses that are offered to them while most small businesses do not offer training courses to female workers because they cannot afford them.

We all support women working and participating in the labor market but this should not happen at the expense of businesses. The retail sector is an important one and can accommodate a large number of workers but there should also be laws that protect it, something that would guarantee the rights of employees and employers.