Labor Law

1
Labor Law

• Construction Contracting Online Course

2
Outline of Presentation

• Introduction
• Common Labor Management Relations Terms
• Workmens Rights
• Wages
• Working Hours
• Overtime

3
Introduction

• Material, Labor and Equipment are three main
  components of construction industry.
  
• Important to maintain good labor relations.
• Give labor their full due in order to get the
  best productivity out of them.
  
• Manager should be well versed with the labor law
  of the country.

4
Common Labor Management Relations Terms

• Boycott
• Collective bargaining
• Featherbedding
• Good faith
• Injunction
• Job targeting
• Jurisdiction
• Jurisdictional dispute

5
Common Labor Management Relations Terms

• Labor dispute
• Lockout
• National agreement
• Picketing
• Pre-hire agreement
• Project agreement
• Salting
• Secondary boycott

6
Common Labor Management Relations Terms

• Situs picketing
• Slowdown
• Strike
• Sweetheart agreement
• Unfair labor practice
• Union security clause
• Wildcat strike
• Work rules
• Yellow-dog contract

7
Workmens Rights

• Workmens rights are divided into following
  types
  
• Legal rights
• Granted by any applicable law, regulations and
  administrative order.
  
• Judicial rights
• Flow from the decisions of competent courts or
  administrative tribunals and arbitration awards.
  
• Contractual rights
• Arise out of consent and agreements of parties.

8
Workmens Rights

• Customary rights
• Based on established customs, generally accepted
  practice and usage.
  
• Acquired rights
• Rights given by employer in course of employment
  relationship.
  

9
Workmens Rights

• Some labor rights relevant to Saudi Arabia are as
  follows
  
• Right of Association Government earlier
  prohibited the formation of labor unions and
  strike activity. Saudi regulations were amended
  in May 2001 to allow companies that employ more
  than 100 Saudi nationals to establish labor
  committees. Only Saudis will be allowed to sit
  on these committees which are intended to provide
  Saudi workers a voice regarding working
  conditions, salaries, and work hours, as well as
  other relevant issues. Non-Saudi workers are not
  eligible to join these committees.

10
Workmens Rights

• The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
  This right is not recognized in Saudi Arabia.
  Expatriates perform much skilled and almost all
  unskilled labor. Non-Saudi workers who seek to
  organize may be deported. In 2000, however, a
  number of walk-outs were held by foreign
  hospital, food processing, and construction
  workers to protest against non-payment of
  salaries. Similar actions took place in the
  summer 2001 in both Jeddah and Riyadh

11
Workmens Rights

• Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor Forced
  labor is prohibited in Saudi Arabia. However,
  since employers have control over the movement of
  foreigners in their employ, forced labor, while
  illegal, can occur, especially in remote areas
  where workers are unable to leave their places of
  employment.

12
Workmens Rights

• Minimum Age for Employment of Children The labor
  law states that "a juvenile who has not completed
  13 years of age shall not be employed." This
  restriction may be waived by application to the
  Ministry of Labor with the consent of the
  juvenile's parent or guardian. Children under 18
  and women may not be employed in hazardous or
  unhealthy occupations. Wholly-owned family
  businesses and family-run farms are exempt from
  these rules.

13
Workmens Rights

• Acceptable Conditions of Work Saudi Arabia has
  no minimum wage. The labor law establishes a
  48-hour work week and allows employers to require
  up to 12 additional hours of overtime, paid at
  time and one-half. It also requires employers to
  protect employees from job related hazards and
  diseases.

14
Wages

• Wage is all that is given to the workman in
  consideration of his work under a labor
  contract.
  
• No law regarding minimum wages in Saudi Arabia.
• Wage consists of base salary, foreign service
  premium/remote area premium, cost of living
  allowances, extended work week bonus, housing,
  food allowance, transportation etc.

15
Wages

• Employer is required to pay the wages at the time
  and place specified in the contract.
  
• Regulations permit the employer to make
  deductions in the wages in respect to
  
• Recover advances or any amounts paid in excess
• Social insurance due
• Workmans contribution to savings funds
• Installments pertaining to construction of houses
  etc

16
Wages

• Fines that are imposed on workman for any
  offence.
  
• Any debt to be recovered in execution of a
  judicial judgment.
  
• Maximum deductions allowed is 50 of wage
• Employers are punishable if unjust deductions are
  made or payments are not made on time.
  

17
Working Hours

• Work week consists of maximum six days of actual
  work.
  
• Maximum number of working hours in a work week is
  forty eight hours of actual work plus half hour
  of work preparation every work day.
  
• Six hour work day in holy month of Ramadan.
• Friday is the official rest day unless otherwise
  approved by the Ministry of Labor and Social
  Affairs.
  

18
Working Hours

• No workman is supposed to work for more than five
  consecutive hours without rest.
  
• Workman should not remain in the work place for
  more than eleven hours in any one day.
  
• Workman is supposed to be given breaks for prayer
  at the appropriate time.

19
Overtime

• Any work more than 48 hours per week is
  considered additional work.
  
• Law states that additional work cannot be imposed
  on workmen continuously and regularly.
  
• In cases of danger or emergency or exceptions in
  law should additional work be imposed on
  workmen.
  
• Overtime wage is paid at 1.5 times normal hourly
  rate.

20
Overtime

• On weekly rest days or official holidays overtime
  should be two times the normal hourly rate.
  
• Overtime payment is regardless of whether the
  workman is employed on weekly or monthly basis.
  
• Workman has to right to refuse overtime work.