Okaz/Saudi Gazette

JEDDAH — The opening of special courts to look into labor issues has been postponed for a year, according to legal sources.

The courts were to open on Jan. 17 this year but will now commence their work on Jan. 17, 2019.

The postponement was decided by a high-level committee of the Supreme Judicial Council.

The labor issues are currently being considered by general courts and 38 labor commissions in various parts of the Kingdom.

A royal decree has extended the interim period during which the general courts will look into labor disputes by a year until special courts are established.

The special labor courts once established will consider the labor disputes involving contracts, wage, the rights of laborers, and work injuries and financial compensations for them.

The courts will also consider disputes arising from the arbitrary sacking of workers by employers and other complaints of workers.

The commissions to settle labor disputes will be dissolved once the labor courts start their work and their staff will be redeployed in the new courts.

According to a report by the Ministry of Labor and Social Development, the commissions have settled more than 23,000 disputes during the past year alone.