By Adnan Al-Shabrawi

Okaz/Saudi Gazette

JEDDAH – Labor courts in the Kingdom have been directed to settle all labor lawsuits on an urgent basis, Okaz/Saudi Gazette sources have learned.

Also, sources in the Ministry of Justice have revealed that a total of 2,931 lawsuits and cases were filed in the labor courts and circuits in the lunar month of Dhul Hijjah (August). Of these, 59 percent were related to payment of wages followed by other cases comprising 25 percent.

The number of cases filed daily ranged between 133 and 358, with an average of 245 cases daily. Riyadh, Makkah and the Eastern Province topped the list with 67 percent of the total number of filed cases.

The Ministry of Justice has said that a labor lawsuit begins with the worker or employer submitting an application to the pertinent Labor Office so as to settle the dispute amicably. The period for reaching an amicable settlement is 21 days. Once this period elapses, the concerned Labor Office refers the dispute to labor courts electronically for adjudication.

As to cases concerning domestic workers and others of the same category, a dispute is referred to a committee. Regulations specify five days for reaching an amicable settlement.

In case of no settlement, the committee has 10 days to issue its decision. If the pertinent committee cannot reach a decision, then the Labor Court will be handed over a grievance petition from the party against whom the decision has been issued.

Lawyer and legal consultant Saad Al-Bahouth said labor courts specialize in looking into and issuing a decision on disputes concerning work contracts, wages, rights, work-related injuries and compensations. They also look into lawsuits demanding penalties mentioned in the labor law and the disputes ensuing from decisions on termination from work, complaints by employers and workers and their objections to the decisions issued by the concerned committees, among others.

Al-Bahouth added that the labor courts will not accept lawsuits on any of the rights mentioned in the regulations or in the work contract after the lapse of 12 months from the end of work relations, unless the plaintiff approached the court with a valid reason and the court accepts it.

He said that the Labor Law forbids an employer from changing the employment conditions, which were in force prior to the beginning of litigations before the Labor Courts, if the same harms the stance of the suing worker.