Saudi Labor Ministry Improves Contracts to Increase Efficiency

Saudi Ministry of Labor and Social Development Logo
Saudi Ministry of Labor and Social Development Logo
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Saudi Labor Ministry Improves Contracts to Increase Efficiency

Saudi Ministry of Labor and Social Development Logo
Saudi Ministry of Labor and Social Development Logo

The Saudi labor market is witnessing a tangible progress in improving contracts and raising its efficiency and competitiveness, according to the Ministry of Labor and Social Development.

The Ministry asserted it wants to ensure that the rights of workers are protected through the mandatory electronic documentation program of labor contracts of employees in the private sector by the end of 2020.

The program aims to protect the rights of workers by archiving and documenting their contracts so that they are aware of the data and whether they approve its content or not.

It aims to protect the rights of the parties to the relationship, support emerging business, and remove barriers to business growth.

According to the minister’s new decision, all new contracts will be documented electronically. 

The Ministry has recently held a seminar with the private sector in Riyadh to exchange views on improving the work environment and attract national talents, with the participation of Minister of Labor and Social Development Ahmed al-Rajhi, and a number of business owners and entrepreneurs in the private sector.

Business owners and private sector officials believe it is important to improve the contractual relations in order to create an attractive work environment for citizens and attract competencies to the labor market to serve the Kingdom's economy.



Türkiye's Central Bank Lowers Key Interest Rate to 47.5%

A girl sells plastic items to people in the Kadikoy district in Istanbul, Türkiye, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
A girl sells plastic items to people in the Kadikoy district in Istanbul, Türkiye, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
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Türkiye's Central Bank Lowers Key Interest Rate to 47.5%

A girl sells plastic items to people in the Kadikoy district in Istanbul, Türkiye, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
A girl sells plastic items to people in the Kadikoy district in Istanbul, Türkiye, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Türkiye’s central bank lowered its key interest rate by 2.5 percentage points to 47.5% on Thursday, carrying out its first rate cut in nearly two years as it tries to control soaring inflation.
Citing slowing inflation, the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee said it was reducing its one-week repo rate to 47.5% from the current 50%.
The committee said in a statement that the overall inflation trend was “flat” in November and that indicators suggest it is likely to decline in December, The Associated Press reported.

Demand within the country was slowing, helping to reduce inflation, it said.
Inflation in Türkiye surged in recent years due to declining foreign reserves and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s unconventional economic policy of lowering rates as a way to tame inflation — which he later abandoned.
Inflation stood at 47% in November, after having peaked at 85% in late 2022, although independent economists say the real rate is much higher than the official figures.

Most economists argue that higher interest rates help control inflation, but the Turkish leader had fired central bank governors for failing to fall in line with his previous rate-cutting policies.

Following a return to more conventional policies under a new economic team, the central bank raised interest rates from 8.5% to 50% between May 2023 and March 2024. The bank had kept rates steady at 50% until Thursday's rate cut.
The high inflation has left many households struggling to afford basic goods, such as food and housing.