Okaz/Saudi Gazette RIYADH — The labor courts, which were launched about two months ago, have issued rulings in absentia against a number of companies that failed to attend the hearings though they were electronically subpoenaed. A judicial source said the rulings issued by these courts are final and they cannot to be contested or appealed. He said the Supreme Judicial Council has decided that the rulings on claims not exceeding SR20,000 should not go to the review courts. The source said, among others, these claims include the employee asking for service certificates and documents being kept by the employer. He said before the establishment of the labor courts, the hearings used to be postponed many times when the defendants failed to show up. "With the establishment of labor courts and the introduction of the electronic subpoena specifying the time and place of the hearing, the case will be considered even if the defendant is not present in the court," he said. The labor courts may issue their verdicts during the very first session especially in cases the plaintiffs produce all the required documents, the source said. "The courts were established to rule quickly on all labor disputes so that the interests of the employees will not be harmed," he said. The source said the ministry was determined that all the procedures of labor courts be digitalized so as not to waste time and effort. "The labor courts will lose no time in issuing their verdicts, which is the very goal behind their establishment," he explained.
