Religious scholars, intellectuals and the Supreme Economic Council have agreed on the religious regulations on the employment of women after detailed studies and discussions, according to Labour Minister Ghazi Al Gosaibi.
At a debate on ‘Labour sectors and employment: a dialogue between society and labour institutions’, held in Buraidah last week, Al Gosaibi called for sustained support from society to help his ministry successfully implement new employment policies.
Al Gosaibi said he wants to hear public’s views on how to solve employment issues. “People should advise and guide us as much as they criticise us,” and he said that there were no Islamic religious strictures preventing women from working.
He added that while guaranteeing women the right to work, Shariah stipulates that she should work in an appropriate environment, not mixing with men and without exposing to harassment.
On measures to replace foreign workers with Saudis, Al Gosaibi explained that like any other government department, the labour ministry could not stand against the interests of society. When people stressed the need to cut down on foreign labour, the government issued orders to check it.
Al Gosaibi said that in two years the ministry had succeeded in cutting down labour import by 700,000. This was accomplished despite protests from a section of society that claimed that restrictions on importing labour would jeopardise the developmental process.
He added that the ministry faced a dilemma — demands of the rapid economic development on one side and socio-economic obligation to employ the huge number of unemployed youths on the other.
Al Gosaibi said that to some extent he had to concede to pressures from some quarters that objected to the policy of restricting labour import. “The ministry yielded to the people’s pressure and issued 1,700,000 visas last year,” adding that unemployment was a tough challenge to grapple with. “The ministry did not, obviously, have a magic wand to do away with the problem. The ministry alone cannot change the work culture in society, neither could it change the customs and traditions that underlie the issue,” he said.
He added that the country’s youths preferred to work in the public sector because of the job security, high salary and more vacations available. “The private sector is not as generous as the public sector in such matters.” Al Gosaibi said his ministry faced the huge task of finding employment for 100,000 youths annually.
-- Khaleej Times
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