A survey conducted by the Ministry of Labor and King Abdul Aziz National Dialogue (KAND) on working hours in Saudi Arabia has revealed that shortening working hours in the private sector would encourage citizens to work in that sector.

The study was submitted at the first Social Dialogue meeting organized by the Labor Ministry on Tuesday in Riyadh in cooperation with KAND. The meeting gathered three key players on the labor market and was attended by both Islamic and labor law academics.

The final resolution will be submitted to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah at the end of the coming week, according to a Labor Ministry source.

The study, which covered 3,662 respondents from across the Kingdom, also shows that the long working hours is the main reason for the reluctance of young Saudis to take up offers in the private sector. Respondents supported the call to minimize the working times to 40 hours a week.

The comprehensive survey found that a majority of participants in the study did not support Saturday to be one of the proposed two-day weekend, although they did support a two-day weekend to make it more attractive for Saudis to work in the private sector.

Referring to the National Department of Statistics, the study shows that the number of Saudi work force in the Kingdom rose to 4,747,050 from 3,536,290 during the period 2004-2009, while the number of foreign workers has come down from 4,745,550 to 4,474,250 during the same period. There was also a surge in the work force in the Kingdom, reflecting growth in the country’s economy.

According to the national statistics indicator, the Saudi work force increased by 39.2 percent yearly, while the overall work force grew by 2.8 percent in the Kingdom.

However, the study also shows that the foreign work force constitutes the majority in the private sector. Labor Ministry statistics from 2008 show that the number of registered workers in the private sector has soared to 6.22 million, while the Saudi work force stands at a mere 829,100 or 13.3 percent, of whom only 51,000 are women.

Article 98 in the Saudi Labor Law with regard to working hours states that employees cannot work for more than 48 hours a week. During Ramadan, working hours are reduced to six hours for Muslims or 36 hours a week.

Ahmad Al-Humaidan, secretary-general of the National Dialogue, underscored the positive result of the forum, which brought together three productive parties in the market – businessmen and organizations (as employers), Saudi workers, and the executive authority at the Labor Ministry.

In his statement following the conclusion of the two-day dialogue Tuesday, Al-Humaidan, who is also the undersecretary for Labor Affairs at the Ministry of Labor, said all opinions and ideas contributed by participants in the dialogue would be taken into account in the ministry’s recommendation for determining working hours, which will be submitted to the higher authorities at the end of next week.

Al-Humaidan stressed the importance of dialogue to reach points of convergence between the three partners in the production, underlining the ministry’s determination to foster social dialogue through the next stage to discuss topics that will improve the working environment in the private sector and make it more attractive to the national work force.

He lauded the Council of Saudi Chambers and the National Committee on Workforce Affairs for their supportive role in the dialogue.

The undersecretary stressed the importance of collective responsibility of the three production parties in addressing the challenges in the labor market as well as the importance of promoting the concept of a true partnership between the three parties to enhance the labor market’s stability and stimulate economic and social development.