Labor Minister Mufarrej Al-Haqbani vowed on Tuesday to ensure the Binladin Group keeps a promise to resolve wage issues. "The company promised to solve all the issues related to the wages," Haqbani said on the sidelines of the Euromoney Saudi Arabia Conference in Riyadh. He did not confirm the number of affected employees but said the ministry's "top priority" is to ensure they get their salaries under the Kingdom's wage protection system. "Once we notice a company delaying the salaries we will... send our inspectors," Haqbani said. He said foreign workers facing wage problems can either stay with the company, transfer contracts to another employer, or leave the country and assign someone to follow their case with the firm. "The payment will never be forgotten even if they leave the country... and we as a Ministry of Labor will continue until we get the salaries of all the workers." Staff at another Saudi construction giant Saudi Oger Ltd have also complained of unpaid wages. Haqbani insisted the problem was not widespread. "We still have many expats coming to the country. Two cases will never be able to represent the situation of the labour market in Saudi Arabia," he said. ‘Female employment rate unsatisfactory' The labor minister is also dissatisfied with the level of female employment in the Kingdom. Female Saudi unemployment rose last year to almost 34 percent while the overall jobless rate for Saudis fell to 11.5 percent, according to official figures cited by Jadwa Investment, a local securities firm. "We tried (during) the last four years to increase the female participation in the labor market," Haqbani told reporters. But still, "I am not satisfied at all" with their employment rate, he said. While Saudi women "are highly qualified" and "ready to work," the work environment "is not yet that good for them" but will improve, he said. Asked whether allowing women to drive could help female employment, he said: "I don't think this is the reason for their participation" or not. A new initiative called "telework" allows women in isolated regions to work remotely in major cities, Haqbani said. "So we are trying to provide them with a good environment and less costly tools to encourage them to participate."
