Official: Female work force in certain shops not obligatory

Despite efforts to feminize shops, Fahd Al-Tukheifi, assistant secretary-general for development, said that it is not obligatory for some shops to employ a female-only work force even though these may sell women's accessories.
He said the Human Resource Fund is supporting women workers through providing part-time working hours. He said the time specified to punish owners who fail to apply decisions to feminize has been extended to June 8.
“Small shops and kiosks selling women supplies are not obligated to alter the gender of their work force or even to Saudize its workers, at least for the moment,” he said. He said that most of the decisions announced by the Ministry of Labor are organizational with the exception of the decision to feminize larger commercial shops, which is compulsory.”
This step is represented in feminizing abayas, dress and accessory shops. The strategic objective is to provide employment to Saudi women and to create a working environment through gradual steps to feminize.
Al-Tukheifi made his remarks Sunday during a meeting at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry to discuss the second stage of enforcing female employment in commercial shops.
He said there were collective conditions that shop owners must bear in mind relating to the type of work. “If a shop specializes in selling articles used by women, it needs to employ only Saudi women,” he said.
The presence of male workers is not allowed, and only women and families will be allowed inside the store. Department stores employing fewer than five workers in the shift must have all Saudi workers, he said.
Feminization depends on the location of the shop, the volume and nature of its business. He said violations include not employing Saudi women, which carries out the severest punishments, and the noncompliance of employers with the contractual relationship with his employees.
Basma Omair, executive director for Khadeeja bint Khowyalid for Business Women in the Chamber of Trade, said after the Ministry of Labor tightened regulations on shops, many of them started employing women without proper or adequate training, and sometimes without training at all. This made many women unaware of their rights, saying that leakage in the retail sector is quite common internationally.
Lama Sulieman, vice president of the JCCI, wondered whether the Ministry of Labor had conducted any study or research to support female employment in the retail sector. She also wanted to know what efforts the ministry had made to overcome obstacles that women faced. For instance, many women refused certain jobs and preferred to stay on a social security salary because it was more secure.
Al-Takheifi said the ministry was trying to identify problems that stood in the way of female employment in general. About women’s refusal to take employment because they want to stay on social security, he said there is a committee that is studying the issue.