Several Saudi women working in shops selling female accessories claim they have been employed without contracts.

They also complain that their employers are deducting money for social insurance even though they do not have contracts.

A woman here said she has been working for four months without a contract. Her immediate boss and the company owner have been blaming each other for the delay, she claimed.

She said there are repeated deductions from her salary. “I wonder how they can deduct social security fees when we don’t have contracts. My salary is supposed to be SR3,000 but I haven’t received the full sum since I started working here. They said I was going to get medical insurance, but I still haven’t received the insurance card yet,” she said.

She said she cannot file a complaint because labor officials would ask for her contract. “This leaves me with two choices, either leave the job or stay on because I need the money.” She said she notified an employee at the labor office about her situation but nothing was done.

Another employee said she signed a three-month contract with a company selling accessories but has been working for seven months without a contract. She said her employer also deducts “unjustified amounts” from her SR4,000 a month salary.

Employees working as cashiers at a well-known supermarket said the company has not given them contracts. They said the company also deducts money from their salaries for social security. Sometimes the company deducts money if they have money short in their registers.

A source at the Ministry of Labor said the law in Saudi Arabia guarantees the rights of employees through contracts. If a business owner does not sign a contract the employee can file a complaint with the labor office, which will guarantee her rights even without a contract.

A tour by a local newspaper in women shops in Riyadh found that many Saudi females are working without contracts.

An estimated 35 percent of Saudi women are unemployed despite a government order to accessory shop owners to employ Saudi women.