RIYADH, 29 February 2004 — Saudi Arabia will form its first national labor committee to represent the Kingdom at the next meeting of the International Labor Organization in June, ILO board member Dr. Abdullah S. Dahlan said yesterday. It is “encouraging” private companies to set up labor committees.
“The national labor committee will represent private-sector workers’ committees in international organizations such as the ILO. We invite banks, industrial and commercial firms, among others, to come and make the hard decision — if it is a hard decision for them — to establish their own workers’ committees,” he told the press.
He was speaking after a meeting on the role of the Saudi private sector in international labor organizations at the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry (CSCCI).
“The workers’ committees are a must. It’s the right of workers to have these committees. It’s a message from the Ministry of Labor, from the CSCCI, from the private sector firms, from the ILO. It’s not only mandated by Saudi law but by international laws as well,” Dr. Dahlan told Arab News.
Women workers will also be included in the workers’ committees, he added.
“Private firms with 100 or more Saudi staff should form workers’ committees,” said Dr. Dahlan.
Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Ahmad Al-Mansour said the ILO has three partners — the government, business and labor. “We represent the government; CSCCI, business; and Saudi Aramco and STC, labor. These represent the various Saudi labor sectors at international level,” he said.
“Through the media and the chambers of commerce and industry in Riyadh, Jeddah, Yanbu and Jubail, we try to disseminate more information on the labor code and encourage Saudi businessmen to get in touch with us if they have problems,” he said.
But he said the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs will not force companies to form workers’ committees.
