Saudi Gazette Although women are overjoyed with new job opportunities, they now want to make some amendments to the policy of employing female workers. They want a single shift instead of a double shift, and the reason is that they are facing difficulty finding a driver to drive them four times a day, to and from work each day. Since, women cannot drive in this country, their employers should provide them with means of transportation because a large chunk of their humble monthly salaries has to be given to their drivers. “Those with the authority should seriously look into changing the working hours because they are too long, tedious and inappropriate for married women. For working women who are also wives and mothers, being away from the home for long hours in the morning and again in the evening will have a negative impact on their families. My colleagues and I have also asked the company we work for to provide us with transportation because we go through much trouble every morning searching for a trustworthy driver. The manager promised to help and we are waiting to see what he can do,” said Khulud Al-Issa, saleswoman at a lingerie shop in Dammam. The owner of a lingerie shop at a mall in Dammam, Osama Karkar, told Al-Watan, “We distributed a survey to our female employees to elicit their opinions and suggestions and we found a great deal of them to be very enthusiastic and serious about their work. At the same time we have also received a number of requests to unify the working hours into one shift and I think it is their right. Most businesses oblige their employees (men and women) to keep shops open until midnight, especially during the spring break which is considered the prime shopping season. In my opinion, it is unreasonable to force working women to remain at work until that late at night.” The Director of the General Directorate of Joint Training Programs of Girls Technical Training, Dr. Hanan Al Juwai'id, said, “The top priority at the moment is to employ a woman and give her higher job satisfaction, which can be done by providing transportation facilities and regulating the working hours in one straight shift. In addition, the Directorate of Joint Training aims to help train young women seeking jobs to fill in the gap for saleswomen in lingerie shops across the Kingdom. Easing and helping women into these jobs and meeting their demands will have a positive outcome on the Kingdom's economy in the long run.” __
