New rules for women workers in Saudi Arabia

The rules would also extend to hiring people for jobs and advertising vacancies for employment.

After the news of Saudi Arabia allowing women to travel abroad without approval from a male guardian, a few other momentous decisions regarding women have come about in the kingdom.
According to a report in the Saudi Gazette, the Ministry of Labor and Social Development in Saudi Arabia has made a decision to treat the male and female workers in the country at an equal level.
Both the men and the women will now be considered as workers/people working for an employer and under his or her management and supervision in return for a wage, even if they are not within sight.
This particular amendment in the labour regulation will not allow the employers and the entities to discriminate between workers on the basis of their age, disability and gender. This rule would also extend to hiring people for jobs and advertising vacancies for employment.
Apart from this the authorities in Saudi Arabia have also nullified the retirement age rule- 60 years for men and 55 years for women. The authority has delegated that the retirement of the workers would be in tandem with the requirements of the social insurance rules and regulations.
The regulations also forbid the employers from terminating the services of the female employees or issuing them the notices of dismissal from the jobs, while they are on their maternity leaves. They also cannot be issued any kind of warning letters or get terminated in case they fall ill due to pregnancy-induced ailment or a health concern at the time of delivery. However their illness must be attested, by means of an authentic medical report and the employee's absence from work should not be over a 180 days- whether continuous or intermittent.
Saudi Arabia will now allow women to travel abroad without approval from a male guardian, the government said on Thursday (August 1).
"A passport will be granted to any Saudi national who submits an application," said a government ruling published in the official gazette Umm Al Qura.
The regulation effectively allows women over the age of 21 to obtain passports and leave the country without their guardian's permission, the pro-government Okaz newspaper and other local media reported, citing senior authorities.
Saudi women have long required permission from their male guardians to marry, renew their passports or exit the country.
The reform grants women greater autonomy and mobility, the Saudi Gazette newspaper said, hailing the decision as "one giant leap for Saudi women".
The decision was met with jubilation on social media, with the hashtag "No guardianship over women travel" gaining traction.
(With inputs from AFP)

• Saudi Arabia