Saudi Arabia has amended its labor laws. This is going to benefit Indian workers a lot because millions of Indian workers work in Saudi. The new reforms are about overtime and holidays etc.
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Saudi Arabia has made major changes in its labor laws which will have a big impact on Indians. Giving this information, the Human Resources Ministry of the Kingdom said that the aim of these reforms is to protect the rights of workers and create a better environment for them to work. The new reforms include increasing maternity leave, regulating overtime and banning all types of discrimination in employment.
Under the reforms, Saudi Arabia is starting 12 weeks of maternity leave for women instead of 10 weeks from this month. This will benefit pregnant women workers working in Saudi.
Apart from this, if the husband or wife of a worker dies, he will get 5 days of paid leave. Similarly, if a worker has to get married, he will get 5 days leave. If someone works on Muslim festivals, such as Eid etc., then it will be considered overtime and in addition to the fixed salary, the full amount of overtime will be given to the worker.
In Saudi Arabia, workers can now be kept on trial for a maximum of 180 days. The new amendment to the labor law also states that no employer will discriminate in providing employment on the basis of race, color, sex, disability or social status.
Apart from this, businesses employing workers without a license will also be fined, as the new amendments also aim to strengthen the regulation of the labor market.
Saudi Arabia has a large number of migrant workers who reach there from countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh. These workers work as laborers, plumbers, Egyptians, electricians etc.
Millions of Indians work in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia has always attracted Indians and millions of Indians go there to work. The number of Indians in Saudi Arabia increased by two lakhs during the financial year 2023-24. With an increase of about 10% in the number of Indians, the number of Indian community in Saudi Arabia has increased to 26 lakh 50 thousand. This number is one of the largest number of migrants working in Saudi.
Skilled, less skilled and unskilled, all types of people from India move to Saudi Arabia. Less skilled and unskilled people work as construction, plumbers, electricians, carpenters, painters, domestic servants etc. Amendments in Saudi labor laws will greatly benefit migrant workers.
Saudi efforts to prevent unskilled workers from entering the country
Saudi Arabia has also made several efforts in the last few years to prevent unskilled workers from entering the country. In December 2023, Saudi Arabia announced that workers coming to the country would have to pass a test of the verification program. Saudi had asked to implement its vocational verification program in more than 160 countries. Then Saudi labor officials had said that the purpose of this move is to regulate the labor market and bring skilled workers to the country by preventing unskilled workers from entering Saudi.
The Saudi Ministry of Human Resources launched this program in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and so far it has been implemented for many countries. Indian workers also have to pass this verification program test to go to Saudi Arabia.
