Working conditions for women to be eased

The Ministry of Labor is working on a new mechanism to address issues pertaining to work hours and commuting of women employees in both public and private sectors. The mechanism focuses on facilitating women to work in a single shift in offices and shops nearest to their residences, according to Fahd Al-Tukhaifi, assistant undersecretary for development at the ministry. The move comes at a time when a large number of women jobseekers has approached the ministry as well as employers with requests to put them in one shift, Al-Madinah newspaper reported Friday. Al-Tukhaifi said that the ministry is exerting all efforts to address this problem in coordination with the government agencies concerned and private firms. “Work hours and commuting are major hurdles that stand in the way of Saudi women from taking up many jobs in public and private sectors. The ministry is persuading employers to rearrange their working hours in a way that will facilitate women to work in a single shift,” he said. According to Al-Tukhaifi, thousands of job opportunities are open to women graduates thanks to the new regulations introduced by the ministry to employ women in various sectors, especially in the lingerie and women’s accessory stores. “Unfortunately, many women are not in a position to take advantage of these opportunities due to double shift and commuting problems. They are reluctant to take up jobs that have double shift, especially at firms and commercial markets that are far away from their homes,” he said. Al-Tukhaifi said that regulating transportation and work hours of those working at commercial shops does not come in the purview of the ministry’s supervision.