Ministry to tackle transport of female factory workers

The Ministry of Labor is studying a proposal to provide transportation for Saudi women working in factories.
The ministry will bear the costs of transportation.
The ministry is studying the mechanisms of implementing this proposal, which has been presented by the Industrial committee in the Eastern Province Chambers.
“The Ministry of Labor started working on the Industrial Committee’s proposal to devise a clear-cut mechanism to support transporting women employed in factories,” said Salman Al-Jashi, chairman of the Industrial Committee in the Eastern province chamber. “Indeed the proposal has been turned into a project to support female factory workers.”
The ministry will offer financial support to factories and its female workers through its human resource funds.
Al-Jashi said the problem isn’t only concerned with cost, but in providing a comprehensive system for public transportation in industrial cities and the process of moving workers to and from these factories.
Al-Jashi expected work on the ministry’s support mechanism to be completed within the next few weeks.
“Supporting transportation of female factory workers has become a necessity in the light of their rising number, and the increasing role of working women in the industrial sector,” he said. “We need to deal with two important problems that face women who work in this sector, which are babysitting services and public transportation.”
The Council of Saudi Chambers, through its National Industrial Committee, failed to come to an agreement with the Saudi Public Transport Company (SAPTCO), even after the two sides held meetings over a span of 18 months to put an end to the ordeal of female factory workers.
The chamber pulled out of the negotiations and the issue was moved to the Ministry of Labor.
“The Industrial committee in Saudi Chambers held meetings with representatives from SAPTCO, and came up with various proposals about suitable mechanisms for transporting employees of industrial cities because it will have a positive effect on transportation activities,” said Abdulaziz Al-Suraea, deputy chairman of the Industrial committee in Saudi Chambers.
“But both sides failed to come to understanding in this issue. Employing qualified women in light industries was a great success, but the biggest problem that stands in the way of women’s success and continuing employment in this sector is transportation,” he said.
The National Industrial Committee in Saudi Chamber was studying the possibility of reaching a mechanism to transport female employees to factories with the Saudi Public Transport Company.