JEDDAH, 6 September 2005 — A meeting of the Council of Ministers, chaired by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, yesterday welcomed a proposal made by businessmen for making SR1,500 the minimum wage for Saudi men and women in the private sector.

“King Abdullah appreciates the initiative taken by the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry (CSCCI) to set a voluntary minimum wage for Saudi men and women working in the private sector at SR1,500 per month,” a statement issued after the Cabinet meeting said.

“King Abdullah also expressed satisfaction over the businessmen’s constructive response,” Social Affairs Minister and Acting Culture and Information Minister Abdul Mohsen Al-Akkas told the Saudi Press Agency.

The CSCCI said the businessmen had made the proposal in response to a royal decree raising the wages of public servants by 15 percent and also in recognition of their social responsibility.

Prominent Saudi businessman Abdul Rahman Al-Jeraisy, deputy chairman of CSCCI, sent a letter to King Abdullah stating that the chairmen of the chambers of commerce had agreed to fix the minimum wage at SR1,500.

“This is an initiative by the chambers and businessmen and is not enforced,” Fahd Al-Salami, deputy secretary-general of CSCCI, told Arab News. “It is difficult for citizens to live on this salary, given current living expenses but they can adapt. There are public sector employees who take lower salaries,” he pointed out.

The General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI) has decided that the wages of Saudis in the private sector should not be less than SR1,500, Salami said. “Our initiative is connected to that,” he added.

Minister of Labor Dr. Ghazi Al-Gosaibi directed the ministry’s officials to activate the initiative, which will benefit around 100,000 Saudi employees in the private sector. Gosaibi expects private companies to comply with the decision. However, the minister refused to make the minimum wage mandatory.

Speaking to Arab News, Salami commended the minimum salary initiative. “This is the first time that such an initiative has been made. The decision will be circulated to all the chambers of commerce and they will inform the private firms and the businesses that they have the option to implement it. It is not mandatory,” he said.

As for complaints that the SR1,500 ceiling is inadequate, Al-Salami said salaries in the private sector are flexible and can be raised based on the employee’s performance.

Saudis working in the private sector find the SR1,500 minimum wage ridiculous. “It’s a joke. How can they expect anyone to live on SR1,500? If they want to set a minimum wage it should be at least SR3,500,” said Abdullah who works in a contracting company. He said even with his SR2,500 salary he can barely make ends meet.

For security guards who earn SR1,200 a month and work 10 hours a day, the SR300 increase is not good enough, especially as they have no health insurance or paid vacations. Teachers in private schools earn up to SR1,500 a month and for some of them, that is their only family income.

Also yesterday, King Abdullah received a message from US President George W. Bush. The message was handed to the king by Francis Townsend, the president’s assistant for internal security and combating terrorism.

The Cabinet expressed its deep condolences over the deaths of hundreds of Iraqis in a stampede in Baghdad last week and over the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina.

The Cabinet meeting also approved a new law banning possession of fake Saudi coins. “Those who without an acceptable reason possess fake or imitation coins similar to those being circulated legally in the Kingdom will be sentenced to not more than five years in jail or a fine of not more than SR50,000 or both,” Al-Akkas said.

The meeting also took a number of decisions which allow citizens to repay debts to the state in easy installments. However, defaulters will be asked to pay the outstanding amount in one go.