HRC: Saudi laws guarantee work without discrimination

RIYADH — Saudi Arabia’s Human Rights Commission (HRC) affirmed that Saudi Arabia attaches great importance to the right to work and that the Kingdom’s regulations have guaranteed, promoted, and protected this right without any discrimination.

“The Article 28 of Basic Law of Governance stipulates that the state shall facilitate work opportunities for every capable person, and enacts regulations that protect the worker and the employer as well,” HRC said in a statement read out during the inauguration of a training program for male and female officials of government agencies associated with workers’ rights.

It was stated that in light of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, many rules and regulations, as well as institutional frameworks, were introduced to enhance the protection of the right of the worker in line with human rights standards and international labor standards. In this context, amendments have been made to the Labor Law, in addition to enacting a bylaw of domestic workers.

The HRC stated that many initiatives and programs were launched in addition to the setting up of courts, labor circuits, and labor dispute settlement bodies. Similarly, a unified toll-free number was been launched to receive complaints from migrant workers in several languages.

Moreover, a landmark labor reform initiative was unveiled recently seeking to improve the contractual relationship between employers and employees with the focus on easing restrictions imposed on workers. The state-owned human rights body affirmed that the Kingdom has taken into account human rights standards in all of its measures and procedures.

The sessions of the first day of the training program discussed the right to work as it is guaranteed in human rights treaties and charters, labor standards issued by the International Labor Organization, workers’ rights in Saudi regulations, and the Kingdom’s international obligations and their compatibility with international conventions.

The second day’s sessions will discuss fair litigation standards for workers, and its mechanisms in labor courts in national law, and the promotion of the right to work and workers’ rights as per international treaties and standards.