65,000 foreign employees benefited from Saudi Arabia’s labour reforms: Ministry

Riyadh: A total of 65,000 foreign employees have benefited from the labour reforms initiated by Saudi Arabia one year ago, said the kingdom’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development.

The “contractual relationship improvement” initiative, launched by the ministry in March 2021, has covered foreign workers in the private sector and helped to protect the rights of both employees and employers, according to a statement from the ministry sent to Xinhua on Tuesday.

It also noted that more than 30,000 enterprises have benefited from this initiative that aims to ensure job mobility, Xinhua news agency reported.

The new labour law has allowed foreign workers to leave their job freely once their employment contract has expired. They are also allowed to switch jobs, no matter their contracts have expired or not, as long as they have been in Saudi Arabia for a year and have notified their employers 90 days in advance.

The ministry said the new reform ignited competition in the Saudi labour market and helped to combat human trafficking.