Plan Approved to Saudize Sales Jobs

Plan Approved to Saudize Sales Jobs Staff Writer

RIYADH, 4 October 2003 — The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs has approved a decision to Saudize 25 job categories in the sales sector, Al-Watan reported. Sales jobs in clothes stores, fabric stores, toys store, abaya stores, two-riyal stores, perfume stores, and shops selling car parts and cellular phones will be among those restricted to Saudis only. Ibrahim Al-Namlah, the minister of labor, issued a decision to enforce Saudization in three stages over the next three years. In the first year, the salesman in stores with a single member of staff must be Saudi, while in stores with two staff, at least one must be Saudi. In the second year, 50 percent of all workers in these stores must be Saudi, reaching 75 percent in the third year. The ministry took the action on the recommendation of a committee.