JEDDAH, 27 September 2005 — The Council of Ministers yesterday approved the new labor law that allows women to work in all fields that suit their nature and raises the rate of Saudization of jobs in companies to 75 percent.
The Cabinet meeting, chaired by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, also denounced Israeli state terrorism. It emphasized Iraq’s unity and opposed interference of foreign forces in the country’s internal affairs.
Culture and Information Minister Iyad Madani said the new labor law, which has been endorsed by the Shoura Council, insisted that the number of Saudis working in a company should be at least 75 percent. The law, however, allows the labor minister to reduce this rate temporarily if there is a shortage of qualified hands required by companies.
The law emphasizes payment of end of service benefits (ESBs) to employees and gave details of how ESBs are calculated, Madani said. Commission and bonus will be added to the basic salary while calculating ESBs.
“Women will be entitled to have maternity leave of four weeks before and six weeks after childbirth,” Madani said explaining the new law’s salient features. “An employer providing jobs to 50 women or more must arrange for babysitters to take care of their children aged below six,” the new law said.
The law instructs the Labor Ministry to establish employment offices, which will provide free service to jobseekers and employers. These offices will register the names of Saudis of working age. Employers have been instructed to inform the offices about job vacancies, types of jobs and conditions and salaries.
Labor Minister Ghazi Al-Gosaibi said the new law, which replaces the one issued 37 years ago, took into account national and international developments and changes and realized the interests of all parties on the job market. He said his ministry drafted the new law in coordination with other government agencies and the private sector. It has also taken into consideration Arab and international labor agreements.
The law, which has 245 articles and 16 chapters, protects the rights of workers and ensures a balanced relationship between employers and employees. It also goes along with the international agreements signed by the Kingdom and principles of the World Trade Organization. Gosaibi said the new law covered certain categories of workers for the first time including mine workers. It contained special rules for house servants and those in the same category.
“The law emphasizes employment of Saudis and urges employers to provide them with suitable working atmosphere,” he said.
The law calls for strict measures against free and surplus workers, who do not work for any particular company or individual.
It protects the rights of both employers and employees at the time of ending work contract. It has put the probation period at 90 days which could be extended for a similar period for certain job categories. This gives a worker a second chance to prove his skills, Gosaibi said.
It raised the percentage of handicapped workers to be employed in a company from two to four percent of the total work force, Gosaibi said, adding this applies to companies having 25 workers (instead of 50 in the previous law).
The new law has put retirement age for men at 60 and women at 55 unless both sides agreed to an extension. It also allows early retirement for the first time. The law increased the entitled leave of a worker from 15 to 21 days annually, which will be raised to 30 days if he worked continuously with the same employer for five years.
It also allows a worker, who has joined an educational institution to have leave with full pay to write exams. It allows workers to have leave without pay with the approval of the employer.
Referring to benefits received by women, Gosaibi said a woman employee would get 15 days leave with full pay in case of her husband’s death. Women will also get full ESBs, except in certain cases mentioned in the law.
According to the new law, fines imposed for any violations would go to the Manpower Development Fund for training Saudis, Gosaibi said, adding that the amounts of fine have been increased to serve as a deterrent.
The supreme commission for settling labor disputes will have several benches to speed up settlement of labor disputes.
The Cabinet meeting denounced Israeli military escalation and state terrorism against the Palestinian people, saying such provocative actions would undermine the peace process.
The Cabinet urged the international community to raise its voice against the Israeli aggression, ending its present silence. It emphasized the need for preserving the unity of Iraq as well as its Islamic and Arab identity.
The Cabinet also approved measures to regulate licensing of real estate shares. In accordance with the new law, real estate firms must get the approval of the Commerce and Industry Ministry to float their shares for public subscription.
The land for which shares are invited must be owned by the company with a valid deed and the company or individual offering the shares should have at least 20 percent stake in the property.
In another development, King Abdullah yesterday issued a royal decree renewing membership of three members of the Saudi Ports Authority board for three years, and appointing two new board members.
