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 1,2024

The Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah says it targeted Israel's Glilot military base and Mossad headquarters in the outskirts of Tel Aviv with salvos of Fadi-4 rockets.

Israeli reports said several settlers were injured in the rocket barrage from Lebanon on Tel Aviv.

The reports said the rocket attack from Lebanon was “the largest” since the beginning of the war.

Hezbollah earlier said it struck gatherings of Israeli troopers in artillery and rocket attacks on the northern part of the occupied Palestinian territories in retaliation for Israel’s deadly strikes on Lebanon.

In separate statements released on Tuesday, the resistance movement said the gatherings of the enemy troops were hit at the Shtula, Metulla, Avivim and Rosh Pina settlements.

The resistance also targeted the Doviv barracks with a Falaq-2 rockets as well as the gathering of Israeli forces near the settlement of Rosh Pina with a rocket barrage.

The resistance group added that it had conducted the operations in support of “steadfast Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and … their valiant and honorable resistance, and in defense of Lebanon and its people.”

The attacks came amid a major escalation in Israel’s acts of terror and aggression in Lebanon that saw the regime assassinating Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in an airstrike on southern Beirut.

The death toll from Israeli aerial assaults across Lebanon since early October 2023 has reached 1,745 with some 8,767 injured, according to Lebanese government data. In response, Hezbollah has fired barrages of rockets and drones towards Israeli targets.

The deadly exchange of fire was sparked by Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, which has killed 41,615 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and wounded 96,359 others over the past year.

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News Network
September 25,2024

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New Delhi: The Supreme Court today closed proceedings against Karnataka High Court Judge Justice Vedavyasachar Srishananda, following his public apology for controversial comments made during court sessions. Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, leading a five-judge bench, stated that the decision was made in the interest of justice and the dignity of the judiciary.

Justice Srishananda during a recent court hearing. Justice Srishananda, while addressing a landlord-tenant dispute, referred to a Muslim-majority area in Bengaluru as "Pakistan" and made a misogynistic comment involving a woman lawyer. His comments, which went viral on social media, prompted the Supreme Court to seek a report from the Karnataka High Court, which was submitted shortly after the incident.

"No one can call any part of territory of India as 'Pakistan'," Chief Justice Chandrachud said. "It is fundamentally against the territorial integrity of the nation. The answer to sunlight is more sunlight and not to suppress what happens in court. The answer is not to close it down."

The Supreme Court had taken up the case on its own and had sought a report from the Karnataka High Court over the controversial remarks. A five-judge bench led by CJI Chandrachud, along with Justices S Khanna, B R Gavai, S Kant, and H Roy, had on September 20 expressed the need for establishing clear guidelines for constitutional court judges regarding their remarks in court. 

"Casual observational may indicate personal biases especially when perceived to be directed at a certain gender or community. Thus one must be wary of making patriarchal or misogynistic comments. We express our serious concern about observations on a certain gender or a community and such observations are liable to be construed in a negative light. We hope and trust that the responsibilities entrusted to all stakeholders are discharged without bias and caution," CJI Chandrachud said today. 

The Supreme Court bench said that when social media plays an active role in monitoring and amplifying courtroom proceedings, there is an urgency to ensure judicial commentary aligns with the decorum expected from courts of law.

Videos of Justice Srishanananda were viral on social media.

In one video, he refers to a Muslim-dominated locality in Bengaluru as "Pakistan" and in another video he was seen making objectionable comments against a woman lawyer. In the second incident, Justice Srishanananda can be heard telling the woman lawyer that she seemed to know a lot about the "opposition party", so much so that she might be able to reveal the colour of their undergarments.

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News Network
September 28,2024

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A new wave of Israeli airstrikes have reportedly hit the Dahiyeh area in the south of Lebanon’s capital Beirut, which had come under deadly aerial attacks by the regime just hours earlier.

The strikes targeted several buildings in the al-Hadath and Laylaki neighborhoods in the area on Saturday.

Shortly afterwards, reports pointed to “a third wave of strikes” on al-Hadath as well as strikes against Choueifat, another southern Beirut suburb, with subsequent accounts putting the total number of the attacks at more than 30.

The Israeli military claimed that it was conducting strikes targeting “weapons belonging to Hezbollah…that were stored beneath civilian buildings” in southern Beirut.

Hezbollah's Media Relations’ Office, however, asserted, “The enemy's claims about the presence of weapons or weapons depots in the civilian buildings targeted by the bombing in the southern suburb are false.”

Simultaneous Israeli airstrikes targeted areas near the city of Tyre in southern Lebanon, including al-Bass, Burj al-Shamali, and al-Maashouq.

Also on Saturday, the United Nations humanitarian coordinator in Lebanon warned that the country was facing bloodshed not seen in decades, and that the crisis could deteriorate even further.

"The recent escalations in Lebanon are nothing short of catastrophic,” Imran Riza said. “We are witnessing the deadliest period in Lebanon in a generation, and many express their fear that this is just the beginning.”

On Friday, Israeli warplanes struck at least six residential structures in Dahiyeh's Haret Hreik neighborhood, killing at least eight people and wounding some 80 others.

The attacks came as part of the regime’s escalation against Lebanon that has been targeting the country since October 7, when Tel Aviv launched a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.

The escalation has taken a deadlier turn since Monday, claiming the lives of more than 700 people across the country.

Hezbollah has been responding to the aggression with numerous retaliatory operations targeting the occupied Palestinian territories.

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