DAMMAM, 26 June 2003 — The Saudi Labor Law is soon to be replaced by a revised law which conforms to the new business environment and broadens its scope to cover many new areas, Arab News has learned.
The Shoura Council is currently studying a draft of the revised law and it is expected to send its recommendations to the Council of Ministers later this year.
According to Saleh Al-Humaidan, a member of the committee which rewrote the revision, the revised law was submitted to the Council of Ministers in 2000.
The existing law was passed nearly 35 years ago. Since then, the entire business environment in the Kingdom and globally has undergone drastic changes.
“There was a need to redefine the employee and employer relationship and this proposed revision is all about that,” Al-Humaidan said.
Al-Humaidan, who is in charge of the Human Resources Committee at the Eastern Province Chamber of Commerce and Industry and also managing director of Al-Youm Group of Publications, said that the discussion to revise the existing labor law started nearly 10 years ago.
After studying the draft of the proposed revision and making changes where it deemed necessary, the Council of Ministers handed it to the Shoura Council, which is in the final stage of approving it after introducing additional amendments.
Once the revised law reaches the Council of Ministers, it will be debated and amendments will be added as required. After getting royal approval, it will then become law.
In 1997, a committee was set up to study the existing law and write a revised draft. It took almost three years for the committee to produce the final draft, after studying all aspects of the present manpower conditions and the requirements of the private sector.
“We must remember that among the requirements for joining the WTO is streamlining of the human resources sector,” Al-Humaidan added.
