Saudi Arabia launches labor reform initiative; regulates Exit & Re-Entry Visa issuance

Saudi Gazette
November 4, 2020

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Riyadh, Nov 4: The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (MHRSD) launched Wednesday a Labor Reform Initiative (LRI) under the National Transformation Program (NTP) that aims to support the Ministry's vision of establishing an attractive job market, empowering and developing labor competencies and developing the work environment in the Kingdom.

The initiative allows job mobility and regulates the Exit and Re-Entry Visa issuance. It applies to all expatriate workers in the private sector and includes specific control measures put in place to take into account the rights of both parties of the contractual relationship.

The reforms come into effect on March 14, 2021.

MHRSD stated that this initiative will improve and increase the efficiency of the work environment in Saudi Arabia and complement similar initiatives launched in this regard, including: the wage protection system, the digital documentation of work contracts, the labor education and awareness Initiative, and the launch of "Wedy" for the settlement of labor disputes.

In addition to other programs concerning the development and improvement to of the working environment and safeguarding the rights of both parties of the employment relationship.

LRI seeks to increase the flexibility, effectiveness and competitiveness of the labor market and raise its attractiveness in line with the best international practices and the Saudi labor law.

It also activates the contractual agreement between the employee and employer based on their employment contract through digital documentation of those contracts, which will contribute to reducing the disparity between Saudi workers and the expatriates.

This, in turn, will reflect positively on the job market by increasing the employment opportunities for Saudis while also increasing the attractiveness of the local job market for top talent.

Employee mobility will allow expatriate workers to transfer between employers upon the expiry of the binding work contract without the employer’s consent.

The initiative also outlines conditions applicable during the validity of the contract, provided a notice period and specific measures are adhered to.

The Exit and Re-Entry Visa reforms allow expatriate workers to travel outside Saudi Arabia without the employer’s approval after submitting a request: the employer will be notified electronically of their departure.

The Final Exit Visa reforms allow the expatriate worker to leave the Kingdom after the end of the employment contract without the employer’s consent and will notify the employer electronically with the worker bearing all consequences (financial or otherwise) relating to breaking the employment contract.

All three services will be made available to the public through the smartphone application (Absher) and (Qiwa) portal of the MHRSD.

The LRI comes to enhance the competitiveness of the local Saudi labor market and puts it on par with similar international markets. It would also increase it’s ranking on international competitiveness indicators as it elevates the labor regulations to international practices in line with signed labor conventions.

LRl is also expected to decrease the number of dispute cases between employers and employees and attract high-level caliber from around the world.

LRI is also expected to have several economic effects, including developing the local market and the flexibility of work, increase the productivity within the private sector, attracting highly skilled talent, and ultimately contributing to achieving the goals of the Kingdom's Vision 2030 through the National Transformation Program.

LRI was achieved through collaboration and close work with the Ministry of Interior, the National information Center, and with the support of several other government agencies.

It was preluded by several meetings and workshops with representatives of the private sectors and the Council of Saudi Chambers and is based on studies and research that included international best practices in this field.

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News Network
October 8,2024

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A Palestinian prisoners’ rights group says Israeli forces have abducted a total of 108 journalists during violent raids across the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip ever since the regime’s onslaught on the besieged coastal territory started more than a year ago.

The Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, which is also known as Addameer, said in a statement on Monday that at least 58 journalists remain in Israeli custody, including six female journalists and 22 journalists from Gaza whose identities have been confirmed.

Addameer added that at least 16 of the journalists are being held under administrative detention.

An overwhelming majority of Palestinian prisoners are arrested under a quasi-judicial process known as administrative detention, under which Palestinians are initially jailed for six months. Their detentions can then be repeatedly extended for an indefinite period without charge or trial.

Neither the administrative detainees, who include women and children, nor their lawyers are allowed to see the “secret evidence” that Israeli forces say form the basis for their arrests.

Addameer noted that more than 9,000 orders of administrative detention have been issued since October 7 last year, ranging between new orders and renewals, including orders against children and women.

The report comes as another Palestinian journalist was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the northern Gaza Strip on Sunday, bringing the total death toll of journalists killed since October 7 last year to 175.

The government media office in the Gaza Strip in a statement identified the victim as Hassan Hamad, without giving details about the circumstances of his death.

“We condemn in the strongest terms the targeting, killing, and assassination of Palestinian journalists by the Israeli occupation,” it said.

The media office also called on the international community and international organizations to “deter the occupation and prosecute it in international courts for its ongoing crimes.”

Journalists operating in the Palestinian territory are faced with increased dangers as they report on the conflict amidst Israeli ground assaults and airstrikes, disrupted communications, supply shortages, and power outages.

Israel launched the war on Gaza on October 7 last year, after Palestinian resistance groups carried out a surprise retaliatory operation into the occupied territories.

So far, the Israeli war on Gaza has killed at least 41,909 Palestinians, most of them women, children, and adolescents, and injured 97,303 others.

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News Network
October 2,2024

Yemeni Armed Forces have launched a series of attacks on Israeli military positions deep inside the occupied territories, in solidarity with Palestinian and Lebanese people amid the Tel Aviv regime’s ongoing offensives in the Gaza Strip and across Lebanon.

Delivering a televised statement broadcast live from the capital Sana’a on Wednesday morning, Yemen’s military spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree said the country’s missile units had fired three domestically-developed Quds-5 cruise missiles at the strategic installations.

He added that the missiles managed to strike the designated targets precisely, despite the Zionist regime’s attempts to conceal the losses it sustained in the aftermath of the missile attack.

Saree also hailed the Islamic Republic of Iran’s retaliatory attack, dubbed Operation True Promise II, against Israel, stressing that Yemeni Armed Forces are prepared to participate in any joint military operation against the Zionist enemy in support of the Palestinian and Lebanese nations, and in response to Israeli atrocities.

“The continued US and British support for the Israeli enemy will put their interests in the region in jeopardy. Yemeni Armed Forces will not hesitate to expand their military operations against the Zionist enemy and its sponsors until the ongoing aggression against Gaza stops, the siege on the coastal territory is completely lifted, and the attacks on Lebanon come to an end,” he pointed out.

Yemenis have declared their open support for Palestine’s struggle against the Israeli occupation since the regime launched a devastating war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, after the territory’s Palestinian resistance movements carried out surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the occupying entity.

The Yemeni Armed Forces have said they will not stop their attacks until unrelenting Israeli ground and aerial offensives in Gaza end.

So far, Israel has killed at least 41,638 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 96,460 others in Gaza.

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News Network
October 2,2024

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Sirens sounded all over the occupied territories on Tuesday night as Iran launched hundreds of missiles towards the Zionist entity, in a retaliatory attack dubbed Operation True Promise II. 

Meanwhile, Israeli officials have promised to respond after Iran fired a barrage of ballistic missiles at key military and security targets in Israel.

Flares and missiles were seen in the Tel Aviv sky and explosions could be heard in the occupied al-Quds, sending Zionist settlers fleeing into shelters.

The Israel Airports Authority said that no aircraft will be allowed to take off or arrive at all Israeli airports. Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported “direct hits” in Negev, Sharon and other locations from Iran’s attack.

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) issued a statement shortly after the missile attack began.

It said in response to the martyrdom of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyah, Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, and IRGC commander Abbas Nilforoushan, the IRGC Aerospace Force launched dozens of ballistic missiles targeting key military and intelligence bases in the heart of the occupied territories.

The IRGC further said that the attack was in line with the country’s right to legitimate self-defense as per the United Nations Charter, and in response to the regime's escalating crimes—backed by the United States—against the people of Lebanon and Gaza.

The Zionist regime will face more crushing attacks in case it reacts to Iran’s operation, the IRGC added.

In a follow-up statement, the IRGC said three Israeli military bases in Tel Aviv were hit during the operation.

In this operation, a number of air and radar bases, as well as centers for conspiracy and assassination planning against resistance leaders and IRGC commanders were targeted, the statement said.

The IRGC noted that even though the designated areas were shielded by advanced defense systems, 90% of the missiles shot successfully hit their targets.

“The Zionist regime has been terrified by the intelligence and operational dominance of the Islamic Republic,” it added.

The Iranian mission to the United Nations said in a statement that the missile attack was a “legal, rational, and legitimate” response to the terrorist acts of the Zionist regime.

It also warned the Israeli regime that a more “crushing” response would ensue should it dare to respond or commit further acts of malevolence.

Celebratory gunfire erupted in southern Beirut, where Hezbollah chief Nasrallah was killed in a massive Israeli airstrike last week, following Iran’s retaliatory attack.

“Heavy gunfire heard from automatic weapons from areas of the southern suburbs, rejoicing in the missile launch from Iran towards Israel,” Lebanon’s National News Agency said.

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