68,000 inspection rounds target women-only shops in bid to enforce feminization and nationalization decision, uncovering full compliance of 54,000 firms: MLSD

Spokesman of the Ministry of Labor and Social Development Khaled Abalkhail said the ministry conducted 67,903 inspection visits to shopping centers and independent stores in various regions of the Kingdom within three months of the enforcement of the decision aiming to feminize and nationalize women-only shops in its third phase.

The move is in a bid to make sure establishments in the private sector comply with the decision as the ministry has joined forces with several government entities to implement it.

Meanwhile, the spokesman clarified that the inspection rounds uncovered 54,378 compliant establishments which represents 80 percent of the total number of establishments compared to 13,525 uncompliant ones (20 percent).

Abalkhail pointed out the inspection campaigns detected 10,441 violations related to the feminization and nationalization decisions, including 2,853 nationalization violations which constitute 27 percent of the total number of violations and 6,181 feminization violations (59 percent).

He added: ‘The remaining number of other labor violations stood at 1,407 representing 14 percent of the total number of violations.’

Abalkhail urged customers to report labor violations or submit inquiries through dialing the customer service No. (19911) or using ‘Ma3an lil Rasd’ app on smart phones.

Meanwhile, the third phase of the decision kicked off on Oct. 21 of the current year to nationalize and feminize shops selling women-only necessities, namely perfumes, shoes, bags, women socks, ready-to-wear cloths, kiosks and women fabrics, in addition to department stores selling women cloths along with other staples.

It also targets independent and small stores that sell soiree gowns, wedding dresses, Abaya (cloaks), accessories, Jalabiyas (traditional dresses), mother-care products and pharmacies with sections that sell accessories and cosmetics.

In support of the move, the Human Resources Development Fund has offered an array of services for female workers, including the children hospitality program ‘Qurrah’ and the transportation program ‘Wusool’ for the working woman in order to increase the number of Saudi women in the workforce and curb unemployment among them.