Twenty women biochemistry graduates staged a protest at the Ministry of Health headquarters recently claiming they had not been employed for 10 years despite their qualifications.
The graduates were reported as saying by a local newspaper that the ministry was not able to handle the matter. They claimed that Abdullah Al-Kuthairi, counselor to the health minister, had said the case was “beyond the Health Ministry's capabilities."
They also claimed that Al-Kuthairi was surprised that they had not found jobs with the Health Ministry, but did say he would try to help them. They said that Al-Kuthairi told them that this case does not fall under the jurisdiction of the minister. They should instead appeal to the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties about their job descriptions and titles.
The women are graduates of King Saud University in Riyadh and King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah. They said that they had also paid for their own special training at the Health Ministry’s laboratories, which cost them over SR12,000 each.
They said that some graduates had been employed as laboratory technicians. However, these were low-paying jobs in the private sector. They claimed the ministry does not provide jobs for biochemists at public sector hospitals.
They said they did not apply for government jobs under the Jadara employment scheme because there was none offered for biochemists. The Ministry of Civil Service runs the scheme, which requires unemployed graduates to register for work in the public sector.
Women biochemists protest
