ABHA: Saudi women employed in beauty salons should be made to sign Ministry of Labor-drafted work contracts to assure them that their jobs are official, said businesswomen who attended the 10th annual conference of investors related to tailoring, beautification and décor organized by the Abha Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The conference, concluded here recently, was attended by 35 businesswomen from Asir province. Participants said signing official Ministry of Labor contracts would convince Saudi women employees that their jobs were formal and that their work rights would be respected.
The businesswomen said Saudi women who work in beauty salons do not take their jobs seriously and feel insecure. “Signing contracts prepared by the Ministry of Labor would provide them with job security and make them more committed,” said Haifa Humoud, head of the Committee of Busi-nesswomen at the Abha Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Humoud said Ministry of Labor contracts are already available and that many businesswomen do not utilize them out of sheer ignorance of their existence. “These contracts are a guarantee for both employers and employees,” she added.
“The contracts will give girls the job security they are looking for and will provide them with social insurance, official experience and pensions. This will make them more committed to their jobs and reassure beauty salon owners that their employees will not abruptly leave work,” said Humoud.
Participants at the conference also criticized expatriate women who open beauty salons in their homes during wedding seasons and school vacations. “This is an illegal trade that must be immediately stopped,” said one participant.
The conference also recommended closing beauty salons that employ unlicensed foreign women. It also called for the training of Saudi women, urging the authorities to establish specialized training institutes to prepare Saudi women for the labor market by providing them with training. They suggested that the course for beauticians should be two years long.
“This will be an alternative to the individual training offered by some salons, which then claim they have trained 150 Saudi women, giving them fake certificates from the Abha Chamber of Commerce and Industry,” the businesswomen said.
The conference also asked owners of beauty salons to initiate nonprofitable social projects, especially for the welfare of disabled women and prisoners. The businesswomen also decided to hold a special bazaar at their next conference in order to sell products relating to their industry. They also decided to organize a competition to choose the best 15 businesswomen in Asir province who excel in both business and social projects.
The conference also decided to make promotional publications and distribute them at residential camps, tourist offices, airports and other outlets. It also decided to include these brochures in the annual tourist directory and to establish a website for the hair and beauty industry.
