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This alledgedy impacts those teachers with contracts specifying a work week of up to 48 hours.


5-day week in private sector from August
By Amr Abdulwahid, Saudi Gazette | Updated for July 15, 2013
Source: http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20130715173582

JEDDAH – The private sector will officially have a five-day week from next month, according to a source in the Ministry of Labor.

Like their public sector counterparts, private sector employees will now also have a two-day weekend without the need to put in extra hours during their working days. The source said that the working time per week will not exceed 40 hours. The off-days will be decided by employers, said the source, adding that the law does not compel them to specify the off-days as in the government sector.

The source said that the ministry will safeguard the employees’ rights in case the employer wants them to come to work on off-days, provided the employees agree. In that case, the employees should be given overtime in line with the regulations. The Ministry of Labor took numerous steps to encourage the Saudi youth to join the private sector, most important of which are specifying the minimum salary as SR3,000, reduction of working hours, providing two off-days and demanding the companies to make an organizational structure to protect workers’ rights.

Meanwhile, a specialized company that carried out study about the pros and cons of the imposition of SR2,400 levy on foreign workers said that it was counterproductive. The experts came to the conclusion that the demerits of the levy outweigh its so called benefits, said Abdullah Al-Mobti, Chairman of the Saudi Council of Chambers (SCC). The Council presented the report to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and the Supreme Economic Council (SEC).

(End of article)

[nomad soul]

Saudi's Shoura Council upholds 40hr work week law
By Beatrice Thomas, Arabian Business | 4 February 2014
Source: http://www.arabianbusiness.com/saudi-s-shoura-council-upholds-40hr-work-week-law-537282.html

Saudi’s Shoura Council on Monday voted to stick to a 40-work-hour week and a two-day weekend for private sector employees, it was reported.

In December, the legislative council endorsed a proposal to reduce weekly work hours for private sector employees from 45 to 40 hours with a two-day weekend, the Saudi Gazette reported. However, last week it emerged that 15 members of the council were calling for the working week to be increased to 45 hours, or nine hours per day, claiming that a shorter week is largely for the benefit of expatriates. An estimates 10 million expatriates work in the Saudi private sector.

Fahaad Al Hamad, assistant president of the council, said that the session, chaired by president Sheikh Abdullah Al Asheikh, decided to stick to the earlier decision, which also included an eight-hour work day. He said work hours for Muslims during Ramadan cannot exceed 35 hours a week and more than seven hours a day, he said.

During debate, members who favoured a 40-hour working week pointed to international studies showing the positive impact of reduced work hours on workers’ social lives and health - resulting in an increase in efficiency and productivity. “The study carried out by the International Labor Organisation in 2006 showed that more than half of the world relies on 40-hour week and that it did not have any adverse effect on productivity but instead it increased productivity and quality,” one member was quoted as saying. Another member said that an increase in work hours would make jobs in the private sector less attractive to Saudi youths.

However, others said many expats had already signed contracts based on a 48-hour work week. Reducing it would make services and products more expensive, while forcing companies to hire more foreigners at a the kingdom was pushing its Saudisation agenda, they said.

(End of article)