Riyadh permits Saudi workers to form trade unions

The Saudi authorities have given permission to the Saudi workers to form a trade union that permits the initiating of a dialogue between the employees and employers, according to the Saudi dailies issued on Wednesday.

The Saudi daily al-Watan said that the Saudi ministry of social affairs and labor approved the foundation of "work committees " in each establishment in which the number of Saudi workers exceeds 100. According to the said Saudi daily, these trade unions aim at "finding means of dialogue between the employee and employers in order to improve the level of work performance and eliminate technical and material obstacles impeding that."

These committees will elect chairman and representatives in collaboration with the ministry of social affairs.

According to the ministry, the state has to guarantee the freedom of trade unions and protect it from any intervention. However, this measure is not applicable on almost 5 million foreign workers, in particular in the private sector in Saudi Arabia. Some 3 million Saudi employees are working in Saudi Arabia of which 9% are women, according to recent statistics.