JCCI: 80% of ladies stores begin hiring Saudi saleswomen

Owners of women's clothing and makeup shops in Jeddah have begun hiring Saudi saleswomen in line with the Ministry of Labor's January deadline, according to a top official at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI). "The owners of stores selling ladies items have not expressed a desire to postpone the decision of the Ministry of Labor making it mandatory to hire Saudi saleswomen," Adnan Al-Mamdourah, secretary-general of the JCCI, said in a statement. He added that so far 80 percent of stores selling products such as cosmetics, abayas, lingerie and women's fashion in Jeddah have begun hiring Saudi saleswomen. "The JCCI is currently conducting inspections to evaluate the response of stores to the ministry's decision, which was issued based on a royal decree and therefore must be implemented," Al-Mamdourah said, adding that store owners who fail to implement the decision would be held accountable by the Ministry of Labor. Currently the primary job positions that must be filled according to the ministry's guidelines are clothes saleswomen, female cashiers and female shelf arrangers. Many Saudi women who have recently found jobs in stores selling ladies' fashions said they are pleased with the ministry's decision for two reasons. "First of all, the ministry's decision helps Saudi women to finally find a means of reliable employment and secondly, rids shoppers of the embarrassment of having to deal with salesmen while shopping for personal items," Susanne Al-Shammari, a 21-year-old Saudi cashier recently employed at a shop in Aziz Mall, told Arab News. Agreeing, Faten Al-Ahmedi, a 24-year-old Saudi sales representative recently employed in a cosmetics shop, said she is grateful to the Ministry of Labor for helping her and other Saudi women find jobs. "In the past, I had applied to various companies for secretarial work but had to settle for a job as a receptionist at a local polyclinic, which paid only SR1,200 per month. Currently I get a salary of SR3,000 per month plus sales commission and am more comfortable at work dealing only with women,” Al-Ahmedi said, adding that the implementation of the ministry's recent order was long overdue. In 2005, the Ministry of Labor originally ordered lingerie shops to hire Saudi saleswomen to replace foreign salesmen. However, over the last six years the order had been mainly ignored until recently, when tougher guidelines and a deadline were set. Speaking to Arab News in a previous interview, Ministry of Labor spokesman Hattab bin Saleh Al-Anzi warned shops on missing the January deadline. "If by January these shops are still employing salesmen, they will be barred from all the ministry's services including, among others, issuance of work visas to recruit manpower from abroad." Al-Anzi added that in July the ministry had given shops a one-year grace period to ensure that all their staff are Saudi women. However, when the grace period ends in July 2012, shops found not to have complied with the new regulations will face a number of service restrictions imposed by the Ministry of Labor.