Spokesman of the Ministry of Labor and Social Development Khaled Abalkhail said labor inspectors conducted 43,527 rounds on commercial centers and independent stores across various regions of the Kingdom to make sure private-sector establishments comply with the decision aiming to nationalize and feminize women-only shops in its third phase, which is in cooperation with several government entities.
Abalkhail clarified that the inspection rounds uncovered 33,510 compliant establishments representing 77 percent of the total visited establishments compared to 10,017 uncompliant ones (23 percent), pointing out a total of 7,441 violations were detected during these rounds including 1,872 nationalization violations and 4,504 feminization violations.
He said: ‘The number of other labor violations stood at 1,065 as the labor inspectors issued 6,567 warnings during these rounds.’
Abalkhail urged customers to report violations or submit inquiries related to the labor market’s violations through dialing the customer service no. (19911) or using ‘Ma3an lil Rasd’ app on smart phones.
Meanwhile, the third phase of the decision kicked off on Oct. 21 to nationalize and feminize shops selling women-only necessities, namely perfumes, shoes, bags, women socks, ready-to-wear cloths, kiosks and women fabrics, in addition to department stores selling women cloths along with other staples.
It also targets independent and small stores that sell soiree gowns, wedding dresses, Abaya (cloaks), accessories, Jalabiyas (traditional dresses) and mother-care products, as well as including pharmacies with sections that sell accessories and cosmetics.
In support of the move, the Human Resources Development Fund has offered an array of services for female workers, including the children hospitality program ‘Qurrah’ and the transportation program ‘Wusool’ for the working woman in order to increase the number of Saudi women in the workforce and curb unemployment among them.