JEDDAH: A recent survey found out that the majority of Saudi saleswomen in shops prefer the inspectors of the Ministry of Labor rather than those from the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (Haia), a local publication reported.

About 26 percent of the respondents in the survey described the behavior of Haia members during inspections of shops as unsatisfactory.

The survey, conducted by the Khadija bint Khuwailid Center for Businesswomen at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce & Industry (JCCI), showed disparity in the viewpoints of Saudi women toward the Labor Ministry inspectors and the Haia members. Both perform similar roles in the supervision of labor markets and the ethics and behavior of clients and salespeople.

The Qassim region ranked worst in terms of evaluating the behavior of Haia members toward saleswomen with about 26 percent giving them the lowest ranking.

The responses of only 2 percent of the women in Najran and Jazan were negative toward Haia members.

The survey involved about 1,000 female employees in the retail sector in 11 governorates of the Kingdom. It showed a high proportion of female employees who did not deal with Haia inspectors.

In Qassim, about 49 percent of the respondents said they did not deal with Haia members, followed by Madinah with 38 percent, Jeddah 30 percent and Tabuk, with the lowest proportion, only 1 percent.

Among those ranking the treatment of Haia members as excellent, Najran and Jazan were at the top with 70 percent, followed by Tabuk with 63 percent and Riyadh 52. Qassim came last with only 11 percent.

Despite the disparity in the views on the treatment of Haia members, the overall rates of the evaluation were in their favor. The average rate of the women who said their treatment was excellent amounted to 45 percent, against 24 who said they had never dealt with Haia members during their employment. About 18 percent said their treatment was negative while the remaining 13 percent were neutral.

The results concerning the inspectors of the Labor Ministry in comparison were in their favor, with 64 percent saying it was excellent.

Only 6 percent of the total respondents said their treatment was bad, with 20 percent saying they never dealt with the ministry’s inspectors and 10 percent expressing neutral viewpoints.