MCCI member Ihab Mushat said between 20 and 25 percent of 40,000 registered shops sell women’s clothes.
“More than 800 shops come under the definition of women’s lingerie and cosmetics shops where at least 3,200 women workers can find jobs,” Mushat said.
He added that only 10 shop owners attended the meeting called by the MCCI to discuss women’s employment on Tuesday.
The chamber authorities said text messages were sent to 200 owners to attend the meeting.
The chamber arranged the meeting with the aim of engaging with the shop owners about the need to cooperate with the National Joint Training Program for women workers and to tell them that the national program will shoulder the full cost of training the employees. The Manpower Development Fund will meet 75 percent of the salary of women trainees for the six month training period and 50 percent of her salary for one year after that, he said.
Assistant secretary of commercial and industrial affairs Yasser Abu Al-Faraj said projects related to the implementation of the new regulations for women’s employment in lingerie shops will receive governmental subsidies and support.
“Businessmen should fully understand the implication of these regulations in order to prepare a favorable environment for the nationalization of jobs. They should also understand the social issues. While experts formulate strategies and solutions to an issue, the non-cooperation of some businessmen in the matter is strange,” he said, commenting on the absence of some businessmen from the MCCI meeting.
He added that a committee of the National Joint Training Program, Labor Office and Manpower Development Fund and the MCCI is striving to create a favorable atmosphere for employing women and helping businessmen to employ women.
He said the committee takes necessary steps to train women in jobs such as cashiers, shelf duties and retail saleswomen. He said the cooperation of businessmen is required to prepare the list of categories of jobs in which women workers would need training. “Without knowing the actual needs of businessmen a favorable atmosphere cannot be created,” he said.
Talal Mujalled, director of the administration of the branch of the joint national training program, said a trainee will be disqualified if she fails to attend regularly the six month training program. A trainee who refuses without valid reason to join a training program will be denied another training opportunity for five years.
He added shop owners who do not adhere to the regulations governing women’s employment will not receive any services from the Ministry of Labor from January.
