Monday’s session was chaired by Shoura Council President  Abdullah Al-Asheikh and examined the Ministry of Labor’s annual report for the fiscal year 1430/1431 AH.

Shoura Council Assistant Secretary General Ahmed Al-Yahya said on Monday that the members stressed the need to develop a consolidated database for the Saudi workforce, which could enable government departments and the private establishments to fulfill their labor requirements.

“Such a directory will help link the efforts of the relevant departments with the Ministry of Labor,” Al-Yahya said, stressing that each record should also include educational qualifications of the jobseeker, his experience and the type of job he is looking for.

Last year, around 143,000 Saudis found employment through the Ministry of Labor, of which 35,000 were registrants at the local labor offices. Another 108,000 Saudis found jobs in the public and private sectors on their own initiative.

The house pointed out that there is a need for streamlining local recruitment procedures since Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah is keen on providing employment opportunities for the unemployed.

The council also requested the government to issue foreign employment visas to large companies that have undertaken major government work.

The members said the delay in issuing work visas for foreign workers would encourage sponsoring establishments to look for labor on the black market.

It was pointed out that workers hired from the black market are generally inefficient and do not have the required skills.

Some members also said the delay in issuing visas for foreign workers would also render private companies incapable of completing their projects according to the schedule given by the government.

The council’s committee on social, family and youth affairs presented a draft regulation for the establishment of family counseling centers.

It said rapid social, health, educational, economic, developments taking place in the country have led to various socio-economic problems that could be easily solved by such centers.

The house also approved a draft agreement of cooperation between the Kingdom and Hungary.

The draft was tabled by the council’s foreign affairs committee. The agreement aims to promote cooperation between the two countries in the economic, trade and scientific domains.