Saudi Arabia’s Labor Regulation Reformed to Enable Extra Rights to Expatriate Employees | India Schooling,Schooling Information India,Schooling Information

Riyadh: The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development in Saudi Arabia today launched an ambitious initiative to reform the Kingdom’s labor law to provide foreign workers with additional rights in line with the Kingdom’s 2030 Vision and National Transformation Program (NTP).

At a press conference in the country’s capital, Riyadh, the ministry announced the “Industrial Relations Initiative”, which will come into force in March 2021. The initiative enables the mobility of workers living abroad and changes existing exit procedures in a way that does not conflict with Saudi labor law and is in line with international immigration best practices.

The reforms will increase competition in the Saudi Arabian labor market by allowing workers to change employers and allowing employers to attract the best talent, ultimately increasing competition, wages and public spending in the kingdom . “The Industrial Relations Initiative” explains Saudi Arabia’s commitment to developing and better regulating the local labor market, which is beneficial to both employers and foreign workers.

The initiative supports the UK’s reputation for expatriate workers’ rights and efficiency in the labor market and would lead to a reduction in disputes between local employers and expatriate workers over worker mobility or exit visa applications.

The reforms allow foreign workers in the UK to transfer their sponsorship from one employer to another, apply for an exit / re-entry visa and obtain a permanent exit visa. All are now automatically approved without the consent of the employer. The three services are made available to the public via the “Absher” smartphone application and the ministry’s electronic web portal.

The “Industrial Relations Initiative” complements several similar UK initiatives to improve the efficiency of the local labor market, including the Wage Protection System (WPS), electronic documentation of all employment contracts and the introduction of the “Widy” mechanism for out-of-court settlement of industrial disputes.