Minister of Human Resources and Social Development (HRSD) H.E. Eng. Ahmad bin Sulaiman AlRajhi is heading the Saudi delegation to the Labour and Employment Ministerial Meeting of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which is held between 7-8 June 2022 in Paris.

Eng. AlRajhi explained in a statement delivered during the plenary session: "Under the Saudi Presidency, the G20 members committed to many measures to mitigate the impact of the crisis on labour markets including the Saudi pledge of $500m to support global efforts to combat the coronavirus. The G20 countries continue their work under the Italian and Indonesian presidencies in 2021 and 2022 to ensure an inclusive, sustainable and resilient recovery of our Labour markets and societies”.

AlRajhi also pointed out Saudi Arabia's efforts during the pandemic, whereby the Saudi government immediately established a new taskforce
and governance to deal with the crisis. The Higher Committee, headed by HRH the Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, consisting of all Ministers and relevant entities mobilized quickly and effectively through weekly meetings to tackle any matters related to COVID-19.

Eng. Alrajhi confirmed the Kingdom’s response to the crisis was prompt and decisive through introducing economic and financial incentive packages including 16 initiatives specific to the labour market. One example was the Deferred Payment Program for SMEs, which benefited more than 107,000 contracts with a total value of SR 181 billion ($50 billion).

AlRajhi also briefly highlighted extending and scaling the unemployment insurance program (SANID) to all workers, saving 478,000 jobs, and supporting 84,000 establishments. He assured that the country is monitoring the labour market recovery with signs of positive growth compared to pre-crisis levels. For example, there was around 1.6 million Saudis working in the private sector before the crisis, while today the number has increased to more than 2 million. Saudi women's participation rate has also increased from 17% in 2017 to 35% in 2022.

Eng. AlRajhi Insisted they “we must continue our efforts to protect labor markets, upgrade skill-sets, and help improve business operating-models for the future of work, and greener economies”.

We must continue our efforts to protect labor markets, upgrade skill-sets, and help improve business operating-models for the future of work, and greener economies.This year’s OECD Ministerial Meeting is focused on addressing multiple topics related to labour markets post COVID-19, including the creation of sustainable jobs and taking full advantage of digital transformation. 

It should be noted that Saudi Arabia's participation came as a response to an official invitation from the UK government and OECD; which is an international non-profit organisation comprised of 38 countries and was established in order to stimulate the global economic progress and international trade.