RIYADH — The Ministry of Labor has stated that there is no truth whatsoever in a report carried by a section of the media that claimed 298,000 positions supposedly created for women particularly in contracting and retail sectors was an attempt at fake Saudization. In a statement, the ministry said press reports in this regard contained incorrect and unverified information. It said around 477,000 Saudi women workers registered with the General Organization of Social Insurance (GOSI) by the end of the third quarter of 2015. "Even in some sectors, which were considered to be inappropriate for women workers in the past, there are large numbers of them actually working. These include the contracting sector with its operation, maintenance and construction divisions, as well as wholesale and retail businesses," the statement said. It added that about 120,000, or 3 percent, of more than 4 million people working in the contracting sector are women. The ministry said penal action was taken against some companies that were found involved in fake Saudization. The punitive measures included fines and recruitment bans, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
