Saudi Arabia (contd,) Female genital mutilation (FGM), which is condemned widely by international health experts as damaging to both physical and psychological health, is practiced among some foreign workers from East Africa and the Nile Valley. It is not always clear whether the procedure occurred in Saudi Arabia or the workers' home countries. There is no law specifically prohibiting FGM.
Children
The Government provides all children with free education and medical care. Children are not subject to the strict social segregation faced by women although they are segregated by sex in schools, beginning at the age of 7; however, schools were integrated through the fourth grade in some areas. By age 9, most children are segregated by sex in school. In more general social situations, boys are segregated at the age of 12 and girls at the onset of puberty.
It is difficult to gauge the prevalence of child abuse, since the Government currently keeps no national statistics on such cases. Although in general Saudi culture greatly prizes children, new studies by Saudi female doctors indicate that severe abuse and neglect of children appears to be more widespread than previously reported. One major hospital has begun a program to detect, report, and prevent child abuse. There are several widely publicized programs to uncover and address child abuse.
In general children play a minimal role in the workforce; however, there have been numerous reports that young boys of Saudi, Sudanese, and South Asian origin are used as jockeys in camel races.
Trafficking in children for forced begging persists.
//Persons with Disabilities
The provision of government social services increasingly has brought persons with disabilities into the public mainstream. The media carry features highlighting the accomplishments of persons with disabilities and sharply criticizing parents who neglect children with disabilities. The Government and private charitable organizations cooperate in education, employment, and other services for persons with disabilities. The law provides hiring quotas for persons with disabilities.
There is no legislation that mandates public accessibility; however, newer commercial buildings often include such access, as do some newer government buildings.
Foreign criminal rings reportedly bought and imported children with disabilities for the purpose of forced begging.
Police generally transport mentally ill persons found wandering alone in public to their families or a hospital. However, there were reports that police pick up mentally ill persons for minor violations, detain them for a few weeks, and then release them, only to detain them again later for similar violations. Police officials recognize the problem, but they claim that according to Islam, family members should be taking care of such individuals.
//Religious Minorities
Shi'a citizens are discriminated against in government and employment, especially in national security jobs. Shi'a are subjected to employment restrictions in the oil and petrochemical industries. Since the 1979 Iranian revolution, some Shi'a who are suspected of subversion have been subjected periodically to surveillance and limitations on travel abroad. Since beginning the investigation of the 1996 bombing of a U.S. military installation, authorities have detained, interrogated, and confiscated the passports of a number of Shi'a Muslims, including Shi'a returning to the country following travel to Iran. Additionally, the courts will not accept a member of the Shi'a faith as a witness in a trial.
In April 2000, in the city of Najran, in the southwest region bordering Yemen, rioting by members of the Makarama Ismaili Shi'a eventually led to an attack by an armed group of Shi'a on a hotel that contained an office of the regional governor. Security forces responded, leading to extended gun battles between the two sides.
It commonly is believed that the Government accepted Abdullah al-Khoneizi as new leader for the religious community in Qatif to replace his brother, Al-Khuti, after his death in April.
Under the law, children of Saudi fathers are considered Muslim, regardless of the country or the religious tradition in which they may have been raised. In some cases, children raised in other countries and in other religious traditions later taken by their Saudi fathers back to the country reportedly were coerced to conform to their fathers' interpretation of Islamic norms and practices.
//National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities
Although racial discrimination is illegal, there is substantial societal prejudice based on ethnic or national origin. Foreign workers from Africa and Asia are subject to various forms of formal and informal discrimination and have the most difficulty in obtaining justice for their grievances. For example, pay scales for identical or similar labor or professional services are set by nationality such that two similarly qualified and experienced foreign nationals performing the same employment duties receive varied compensation based on their nationalities.
//Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association
The Government prohibits the establishment of labor unions; however, in May the Government announced that beginning in December, workers in companies employing more than 100 citizens could form "labor committees."
The labor committees are to consist of three to nine members, who would serve 3-year terms. The Government has no role in selecting the committee members; both management and workers will be represented. The committee may make recommendations to company management to improve work conditions, increase productivity, improve health and safety, and recommend training programs. The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs may send a representative to attend committee meetings. A committee must provide a written report of its meetings to company management, which also will be transmitted to the Ministry. The Ministry may dissolve a labor committee if it violates regulations or threatens public security. Foreign workers may not form or become members of labor committees. No committees were formed by year's end.
Strikes are prohibited, but several work stoppages were staged in Jeddah in 2000 by foreign hospital, food processing, and construction workers who had not been paid. There were no strikes reported during the year.
In 1995 the U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation suspended coverage for Saudi Arabia because of the Government's lack of compliance with internationally recognized worker rights standards.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
Collective bargaining is forbidden. Foreign workers comprise about two-thirds of the work force. There is no minimum wage; wages are set by employers and vary according to the type of work performed and the nationality of the worker.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
The Government prohibits forced or compulsory labor pursuant to a royal decree that abolished slavery. Ratification of the International Labor Organization (ILO) Conventions 29 and 105, which prohibit forced labor, gives them the force of law. However, employers have significant control over the movements of foreign employees, which gives rise to situations that sometimes involve forced labor, especially in remote areas where workers are unable to leave their place of work. Some sponsors prevented foreign workers from obtaining exit visas to pressure them to sign a new work contract or to drop claims against their employers for unpaid salary (see Section 2.d.). Additionally, some sponsors refused to provide foreign workers with a "letter of no objection" that would allow them to be employed by another sponsor. The authorities in some cases forced maids fleeing abusive employment circumstances to return to their employers.
There have been many reports of workers whose employers refused to pay several months, or even years, of accumulated salary or other promised benefits. Foreign workers with such grievances, except foreign domestic servants, have the right to complain before the labor courts, but few do so because of fear of deportation. The labor system is conducive to the exploitation of foreign workers because enforcement of work contracts is difficult and generally favors employers. Labor courts, while generally fair, may take many months to reach a final appellate ruling, during which time the employer may prevent the foreign laborer from leaving the country.
An employer also may delay a case until a worker's funds are exhausted, and the worker is forced to return to his home country.
The law does not specifically prohibit forced or bonded labor by children. In 1997 the Government attempted to eradicate forced child begging. Criminal rings consisting almost exclusively of foreigners have continued to buy and import South Asian and African children for the purpose of forced begging.
d. Status of Child Labor Practices and Minimum Age for Employment
The minimum age for employment is 13 years, which may be waived by the Ministry of Labor with the consent of the juvenile's guardian. There is no minimum age for workers employed in family-oriented businesses or in other areas that are construed as extensions of the household, such as farming, herding, and domestic service.
Children under the age of 18 may not be employed in hazardous or harmful industries, such as mining or industries employing power-operated machinery. While there is no formal government entity responsible for enforcing the minimum age for employment of children, the Ministry of Justice has jurisdiction and has acted as plaintiff in the few cases that have arisen against alleged violators.
However, in general children play a minimal role in the work force.
The law does not prohibit specifically forced or bonded labor by children, forced child begging rings, and possibly family businesses. Young boys of Saudi, Sudanese, and South Asian origin are used as jockeys in camel races.
The Government has not ratified ILO Convention 182 on the worst forms of child labor.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
There is no legal minimum wage. Labor regulations establish a 48-hour workweek at regular pay and allow employers to require up to 12 additional hours of overtime at time-and-a-half pay. Labor law provides for a 24-hour rest period, normally on Fridays, although the employer may grant it on another day. The average wage generally provides a decent standard of living for a worker and family.
The ILO has stated that the Government has not formulated legislation implementing the ILO Convention 100 on Equal Remuneration and that regulations that segregate work places by sex, or limit vocational programs for women, violate ILO Convention 111 on Discrimination in Employment and Occupation.
Workers risk losing employment if they remove themselves from hazardous work conditions. Labor regulations require employers to protect most workers from job-related hazards and disease. However, foreign nationals report frequent failures to enforce health and safety standards. Farmers, herdsmen, domestic servants, and workers in family-operated businesses are not covered by these regulations.
Some foreign nationals who have been recruited abroad have claimed that after their arrival in the country, they were presented with work contracts that specified lower wages and fewer benefits than originally promised. Other foreign workers reportedly have signed contracts in their home countries and later were pressured to sign less favorable contracts upon arrival. Some employees report that at the end of their contract service, their employers refuse to grant permission to allow them to return home. Foreign employees involved in disputes with their employers may find their freedom of movement restricted. The labor laws, including those designed to limit working hours and regulate working conditions, do not apply to foreign domestic servants, and such domestic servants may not seek the protection of the labor courts. There were credible reports that female domestic servants sometimes were forced to work 16 to 20 hours per day 7 days per week. There were numerous confirmed reports of maids fleeing employers and seeking refuge in their embassies. Foreign embassies continued to receive reports of employers abusing domestic servants. Such abuse included withholding of food, beatings and other physical abuse, and rape. The Government's figures for 1999 stated that 7,000 maids fled their place of employment, and the actual number presumably was higher. During the year, the media reported additional stories of such incidents. The authorities in some cases forced such maids to return to their places of
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