JEDDAH – Investigation teams from the Ministry of Labor visited commercial centers on Monday to check whether women accessories shops were complying with the ministry's regulation to employ Saudi women. The ministry's deadline for these shops to hire Saudi women ended on Sunday. The inspection campaign comes in the second phase to feminizing shops selling women's dresses, abayas and accessories. It is complementary to the first stage of feminizing lingerie shops, and its implementation is compulsory as it is considered to be a national program aimed at employing as many Saudi women as possible. Shops violating these regulations are being given 48-hour warnings, failing which the shops will be sealed, they will be placed in the red zone of Nitaqat and expatriates working in women assigned jobs will be deported. Fahad Al-Tkhaifi, Assistant Undersecretary for Development at the Ministry of Labor in charge of employment of women in shops, told Saudi Gazette that the ministry wants to have women working in all shops related to women's accessories. It also wants to create a cordial atmosphere for women to work in commercial centers by encouraging the private sector to invest in providing transportation and nurseries for working women. Allowing women to work in commercial centers will create more job opportunities for Saudi women, therefore it is restricted to Saudis only. The Ministry of Labor is monitoring malls to ensure that no men are working in women assigned jobs and that women are working in decent conditions and are getting their salaries. The ministry team also makes sure that the shops which employ both male and female staff have proper segregation walls. The Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice is also part of the investigation team tasked with checking that male and female staff are segregated. They also look into any complaints from women. “Women will take over,” said a young Saudi man working in a shop selling women handbags and shoes. “I was working previously in a lingerie shop. Then I was moved to an accessory shop and was asked to train women and move to this shop selling shoes and handbags. “I'm sure I will be asked again to leave this shop soon and will end up going back to my village in the southern region,” he said. Muhammad Al-Shihri, the head of cloth and materials committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, had informed the Ministry of Labor that up to 70 percent of the women accessories market was dominated by expatriates. Traders in this sector, he said, have called for increasing the support provided for employing a Saudi woman from SR2,000 provided by the Human Resources Development Fund to SR3,000. They also called for having one shift in all commercial centers to encourage women to work. They also urged the Ministry of Labor to find a solution to the transportation problem.
