Okaz sources revealed that 31 diverse and comprehensive amendments to the labor system are under study, despite the fact that 25 months have passed since it was introduced as a draft amendment to the “Istikla” platform. The prospective amendments aim to support the tendency to develop existing laws and regulations, including a proposal to adopt working hours in the private sector for 40 hours per week in accordance with Article 98 of the system. Work is the daily standard, or more than 40 hours per week, if the weekly standard is adopted, and the actual working hours are reduced during the month of Ramadan for Muslims, so that they do not exceed 6 hours per day, or 30 hours per week. Human resources surveyed specialists and people with an opinion on the proposed amendments, consisting of 31 articles that are being amended, and new articles, amendments, and deletion of paragraphs are proposed.
According to the proposed Article 107, the employer must pay the worker a wage for overtime hours equivalent to the hourly wage plus 50% of his basic wage, and the employer may, with the worker’s approval, calculate for the worker days of paid compensatory leave instead of the wage due to the worker for the additional working hours. Provided that the overtime wage is paid in cash if the worker’s service is terminated for any reason before he uses the compensatory leave, and if the operation in the establishment is based on the weekly standard of working hours, the hours that exceed the hours taken for this standard are considered overtime hours, and all working hours that are performed on days Holidays and holidays additional hours.
Article 113 granted the worker 3 days leave in the event of the death of a brother or sister, after the death leave was limited to the wife or one of the descendants or ascendants without specific clarification. Full for 5 days from the date of the incident in the event of the death of his spouse or one of his ascendants or descendants, or upon his marriage, and 3 days in the event of the birth of a child to him or in the event of the death of a brother or sister. The employer has the right to request supporting documents. Article 79 stipulates that the resignation is for all work contracts, and the request for resignation submitted in writing is considered acceptable if more than 30 days have passed since it was not accepted, and the employer may postpone accepting the resignation request for 60 days if the work interest requires that, provided that the postponement is within the first 30 days of The date of submitting the resignation, and the work contract is considered valid during the period of the resignation request, and the two parties to the contract are committed to implementing all the obligations arising from it during that period, and the worker whose contract ended with resignation is entitled to his statutory rights.
The amendments permitted that the agreement be between the Ministry and the violating worker to settle the violation, by paying the amount of the fine estimated by the Ministry, provided that this settlement is issued by a decision from the Minister or his representative, after the signing of the decision to settle the violation was limited to the Minister only.
workers compensation
The proposed Article 97 deals with the worker’s compensation and raised the compensation ceiling, as it stipulates that unless the contract includes a specific compensation for its termination by the employer for an illegal reason, the worker is entitled to a compensation of one month’s wages for each year of the worker’s service, if the contract is not Fixed-term (before the amendment, the wage was 15 days), and the wage for the remaining period of the contract if the contract was for a fixed-term. And it was decided to cancel the text, “The compensation referred to in paragraphs (1) and (2) of this article must not be less than the worker’s wages for a period of two months.”
The same article indicated that, unless the contract includes a specific compensation in exchange for terminating it from the worker for an illegal reason, the employer is entitled to compensation for terminating the contract, 15 days’ wages for each year of the worker’s service if the contract is of an indefinite period, and the wages for the remaining period of the contract if The contract was for a fixed term, and the compensation in all cases must not be less than the wage of the worker for a period of two months, and it is permissible for the two parties to agree to compensation in an amount exceeding the specified amount referred to above.
Prevent enslavement and discrimination
Article 61, after the amendment, obligated the employer to provide suitable housing for workers and a means of transportation, and he may replace that with a cash allowance, and the article after the amendment stated: The employer is prohibited from doing anything that would enslave, disperse or favor his workers on the basis of race, color or sex. Or age, disability, marital status, or any other form of discrimination, which would nullify or weaken the application of equal opportunities or treatment in employment and profession, which is a new paragraph, and to refrain from employing forced labor, and not to withhold without a judicial basis the wage of the worker or part thereof, and to treat his workers with due respect, and to refrain from every word or action that prejudices their dignity and religion, and to give the workers the necessary time to exercise their rights stipulated in this system without deduction from the wages for this time, and he may regulate the exercise of this right in a manner that does not prejudice work progress, and to provide suitable housing for his workers, and to provide an appropriate means of transportation from their residence to the workplace, and he may replace that with an appropriate cash allowance that he pays to them along with the wage, and to facilitate for the employees of the competent authorities every task related to the application of the provisions of this system.
brokering criminalization
According to the amendment to Article 40, the employer shall bear the fees for recruiting the non-Saudi worker, as well as the residence and work permit fees and their renewal. A new paragraph added the phrase “and any other fees decided by the state in order to renew the work permit and the resulting fines for delaying that, and fees for changing the profession.” The end of the relationship between the two parties.
Article 37 also required that the employment contract for non-Saudis be written, documented, and for a specified period. And if the contract is devoid of a statement of its duration, it is considered concluded and renewed for a period of one year from the date of commencement of work, (before the amendment stipulates that the work license is the term of the contract).
According to the amendment, a new article bearing No. 231 was added, which includes the criminalization of brokering in the employment of Saudis by imposing a fine of not less than 200 thousand riyals and not more than 500 thousand riyals on anyone who violates the provisions of Article 30 of the labor system, which does not allow any natural person or A legal person may practice the activity of recruiting or assigning Saudis or the activity of recruiting workers unless it is licensed, and the fine is imposed without prejudice to what is required by the regulations, and the perpetrator of the violation is not exempted from consequential penalties, and among the proposed amendments, raising the wages of working women on maternity leave with full pay for a period of 14 a week you distribute it as you like; After it was 10 weeks.
Adnan Shabrawi (Jeddah) @Adnanshabrawi