Factories must employ minimum of 10 women

Riyadh: The Ministry of Labour has made it obligatory upon factory owners to employ a minimum of 10 women in all phases of the production line while urging them to absorb as many females as possible.

The new amendments have also defined the working hours for women, that is between 6 a.m. and 5 p.m. in factories and private sector establishments, a source in the ministry was quoted as saying by local media on Saturday.

Nashwa Taher, a member of the Council of the Board for Radwa Saudi Company for Poultry Production, said, “We should support and encourage women to work in the industrial sector because it is a good way to decrease unemployment among women, especially in remote villages and areas.”

She said the ministry is moving toward employing women in factories, which will contribute to solving the problem of female unemployment and allow the nation to benefit from qualified national cadre.

Abdulaziz bin Sharaf Bukhari, executive president of human resources at Pure Food Company (Saudi AFCO), said women require special working conditions. Some factories demand a lot of physical work, which can’t be endured by women in most cases.”

Mona Ahmad, a worker, supported the ministry’s decision and expressed the hope that jobs would be made available for women in factories because of less job opportunities in the private sector. She also called for health insurance for employees and transport facility.

The dependence on expatriate labor in the private sector has contributed to increasing unemployment among Saudis, he said, adding that the industrial sector should absorb more women and some of the Kingdom’s factories could even be run by women.