Nearly 30 percent of abaya, night-wear and wedding dress stores may close or be sold at prices ranging between SR 500,000 and SR 1 million because of difficulties over employing women staff, local media reported, quoting sources in Jeddah.

A number of traders plan to sell more than 570 stores operating in the market due to problems related to the application of the feminization decision, said head of the garments and ready-made clothes committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) Mohammed Al-Shihri.

Al-Shihri said traders are complaining that the law was implemented too quickly, and about a lack of support and numerous delays in the payment of salary subsidies promised by the Ministry of Labor and the Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF), he added.

The companies are unable to pay salaries because most of them are small and medium enterprises, he said.Foral gown He said owners have welcomed the new law, but need the promised financial support. There have been delays of up to six months in some cases, he added.

The JCCI's human resources committee will submit a package of proposals to the Ministry of Labor on how to remove barriers impeding the feminization plan in these areas, he said.

The proposals include the creation of a binding employment contract where employees will work for a period of not less than one year at fixed working hours until 9 p.m., but extended to 11 p.m. during holidays. The proposals also include finding a suitable transport system, prompt delivery of financial support for employees, and a clear mechanism outlining the HRDF’s support to the sector.

The committee has also called for tighter controls on shops and stalls during evening hours that are reportedly breaking the law by selling women's underwear at the expense of licensed Saudi dealers, he said.

Labor Undersecretary for Development and Head of Women Work Localization Program Dr.chiffon bridesmaid dress Fahad Al-Tikhaifi said support for a Saudi female employee starts from the first month she works, and once the ministry receives notification of her salary requirements.

He said the delays have been caused by businesses failing to provide the ministry with women employees' salary requirements, and not completing other legal formalities.

The HRDF pays 50 percent of an employee's salary, but not exceeding SR 2,000 per month, on condition the subsidized salary should not be less than SR 3,000 a month, he said.

TOOWOOMBA'S Sangran Park wasn't going to turn down the opportunity to wear her wedding dress again.
Mrs Park dressed in her traditional Korean attire and explained the ways of her culture during the official opening of the Cobb and Co Museum exhibition, Kaleidoscope of Celebrations.

The exhibition celebrates three very different cultures found in the region.
For Mrs Park, it was an opportunity to share the traditions of her homeland.wedding dresses from china

Part of the exhibition features a Korean dining table, decked out with traditional place settings.

"My parents' house looks like this,high neck wedding dresses" Mrs Park said.
"In fact all the houses have the same bowls, and wine bottles."

Mrs Park moved to Toowoomba in 2008 after marrying an Australian man 10 years ago.

"I am very happy to be able to share the Korean culture," she said.

"And I am very lucky I can share it with my daughter."
The exhibition also features displays from the Finnish and Indian communities.

The opening was held yesterday and was one of Toowoomba's many Harmony Day events.bridal gown wedding dress

"This is a great opportunity to understand and learn how the many different cultures came to Australia," Filipino-Australian Roberto Garcia said in his address.

"Harmony Day honours and celebrates the inclusiveness, diversity and sense of belonging in Australia."