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Cairo: More than 9 million labour contracts have been authenticated via a Saudi government platform as part of efforts to safeguard contractual rights and boost work stability, the kingdom’s Ministry of Human Resources has said.
The ministry has urged all Saudi and foreign private sector employees to make sure their labour contracts are authenticated via the Qiwa platform, saying the step is important for preserving workers’ rights, providing a stable labour environment conducive to increase in productivity, strengthening trust between contractual parties, and reducing labour rows.
Establishments, which abide by authenticating at least 80 per cent of their employees’ contracts, gain full access to the ministry’s services such as the issuance of visas, transfer of services and change of professions.
Last year, the Ministry of Human Resources unveiled an authentication plan via Qiwa, the labour sector’s main outlet in the kingdom, obligating private sector institutions to document 20 per cent of their employees’ contracts in the first quarter of 2023, 50 per cent in the second half, and 80 per cent in the third quarter.
Qiwa enables employers to upload and update data related to private sector employment contracts while allowing employees to verify contract data, approving or rejecting or requesting their modification.
The plan aims to preserve rights of parties to the contractual relationship, provide a stable labour environment and bolster the job market in the kingdom.
In 2020, Saudi Arabia introduced major labour reforms, drastically improving its sponsorship system. The reforms, which went into effect in the following year, allow job mobility and regulate the exit and re-entry visa issuance for expat workers without employers’ approval.
