Authority mulls setting minimum age for issuing work permits

Members of the board of the Public Authority for Manpower plan to discuss a proposal to set the minimum age of laborers brought into the country at 30, including male and female workers, and to ban issuance of a work permit for any person in any sector under this age. This decision would include all professions in all sectors without exception, within the decisions regulating and private sectors.

Separately, official spokeswoman of Public Authority for Manpower, Director of Public Relations and Information Aseel Al-Mizyad said the authority issued an administrative circular in regards to inspection rules of small and medium projects. She said the rules include: Inspection will be done on project owners registered at the concerned department periodically to make sure the facility exists and the workers on the file do work there; facilities will be inspected in case a new file in the period following the need estimation; the facility will be inspected later during a maximum period of 90 days to make sure it meets the conditions set by decisions and circulars; the inspection department will follow employers registered at the concerned labor department according to the rules in this regard.

In a related note, the Ministry of Social Affair approved its new logo replacing the old one that included ‘Social Affairs and Labor.’ The Social Affairs Ministry adopted its new logo after annexing the labor sector of the ministry and establishing the Public Authority for Manpower as an independent authority, in implementation of the private sector’s labor law.