The Ministry of Labor and Social Development will start enforcing a revised Saudization program called the "Balanced Nitaqat" from Dec. 11. Under the program, five factors will be counted in the implementation of Saudization in each firm. They are percentage of Saudization, average salary of Saudi staff, percentage of women staff, job stability of Saudis, and percentage of Saudis with a higher pay, the Saudi Press Agency reported. According to the new rules, the numerical strength of Saudi workers in a firm simply does not count. Their salary, number of women staff, years of service of Saudis, and their grades of jobs will also be counted. Minister of Labor and Social Development Mofrej Al-Haqbani said the decision is part of the the national strategy for employment and the Kingdom's Vision 2030, which aims to increase the participation of women in the private sector from the current 22 percent to 30 percent.
