AHSA: Adel Fakieh, Minister of Labor, wants to set a minimum wage of SR4,000 for Saudis and has further ordered a halt to visas for foreign women seamstresss in order to promote the employment of locals. Abdul Rahman Al-Sayyah, head of the Labor Office in Al-Ahsa, said in a meeting Sunday at the Eastern Province Chamber of Commerce that a range of decisions from the ministry would be announced in future to promote the employment of Saudi women, and that other decisions previously issued would be put into effect soon to boost Saudization rates. Al-Sayyah told the monthly gathering that the decisions include limiting shop assistant positions at women's lingerie outlets to females He also urged companies and businessmen whose firms have roles for women to open female departments and take on recently-graduated Saudi females. “One of the main problems faced by the Labor Office is the lack of training opportunities that companies provide for Saudi job-seekers, and the low wages on offer which don't match the current cost of living, despite the existence of the Human Resources Fund,” Al-Sayyah said. According to Al-Sayyah, Minister Fakieh “wishes to see a minimum wage for Saudis of 4,000 riyals”. “Some firms have in the past been penalized for phony Saudization records,” the official noted.
