The Supreme Council of Magistracy of Saudi Arabia approved on Tuesday the establishment of a number of labor courts and labor departments at appeals and a general courts This step aims at achieving more safety, raising the attractiveness of the Saudi labor market and fostering justice in the business sector. The overall number of courts will be 96. They will be set up in Riyadh, Mecca, Medina, Buraydah, Dammam, Jeddah and Abha. Twenty-seven labor departments will be established at 21 general courts in various cities and provinces in the Kingdom. In addition, nine labor departments will be established at six appeals courts. Council spokesman and Secretary General Salman Nashwan said that designating these departments was based on statistics revealed by the Saudi Ministry of Labor in resolving labor disputes in recent years. Legal consultant and lawyer Ahmed Mahameed told Asharq Al-Awsat that inaugurating the labor courts is a transitional leap in the specialized judiciary and it provides a safe environment to support saudization and recruitment in the private sector. It offers an organized judicial environment for business owners, he added. The specialized labor judiciary has a supervisory role in activating labor systems and ensuring the rights of all labor contract parties.