8.2.9 Recognition of Labour Rights (Freedom of Association, Collective Consultation & Shared Governance) for All Staff, Including Women and International Staff

1) Institutional Policy Commitment & Regulatory Alignment

BMC formally recognizes and upholds fundamental labor rights, freedom of association, collective consultation, and participatory shared governance for all academic, administrative, and technical personnel, explicitly encompassing women and international (expatriate) staff, in full compliance with the Saudi Labor Law, Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (MHRSD) regulations, General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI) statutes, and International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions.

Anchored in the BMC Employee Handbook (HR-GLN-01), the Faculty Code of Conduct Policy (HR-POL-36 / ADM-HR-008), and the Comprehensive Policy on Non-Discrimination & Equal Opportunity, BMC enforces "Equality" and "Transparency" as core institutional values, ensuring equal rights and representation across all nationalities and genders.

2) Shared Governance, Freedom of Association & Collective Consultation

Within the regulatory framework of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, BMC operationalizes freedom of association and collective bargaining through institutionalized Shared Governance, Multi-Stakeholder Committees, and Professional Association Participation:

• Codified Shared Governance Rights (HR-POL-36, Section 1.1): BMC’s Faculty Code of Conduct Policy explicitly codifies that all faculty members (regardless of gender or nationality) have:

  1. The right to academic freedom, inquiry, and expression (Section 1.1.1).

  2. The right to participate in the determination of program, department, and college policies and procedures consistent with the principles of shared governance (Section 1.1.2).

  3. The right to participate in determining their teaching, administrative, and other college assignments and responsibilities (Section 1.1.3).

  4. The right to inspect their official HR personnel files and request corrections of any inaccuracies (Section 1.1.4).

• Freedom of Professional Association (HR-POL-36, Section 2.7): BMC actively supports and expects staff to belong to and participate in local, regional, national, and international professional associations, scientific societies, and unions/syndicates within their respective fields, supplemented by paid Scientific Conference and Training Leaves (HR-POL-19).

• Collective Representation in Institutional Committees: Staff across all ranks, genders, and nationalities actively participate in collective decision-making through program committees, the College Council, Quality Assurance committees, and the four predefined multi-stakeholder Hiring & Selection Committees (Committees A, B, C, and D under HR-POL-15).

3) Explicit Protection of Labour Rights for Women & International Staff

BMC guarantees that 100% of its labor rights, contractual protections, benefits, and collective consultation mechanisms apply equally to female and international staff without exception:

• Rights of International (Expatriate) Staff (HR-POL-15 & HR-GLN-01):

  • Bilateral Contractual Protection (Qiwa & GOSI): All international recruitment is conducted strictly through licensed agencies accredited by Saudi Embassies (HR-POL-15, Section 2.22). Every expatriate employee signs a unified bilateral employment contract documented on the official MHRSD Qiwa platform and is registered in GOSI from day one.

  • Dedicated Government Relations & Sponsorship Support: BMC’s HR Department operates a dedicated Government Relations unit that manages Iqama issuance/renewal, work/re-entry visas, document attestations, and dependent services (HR-GLN-01, p. 12) while guaranteeing that international employees retain full custody of their passports and official documents at all times.

  • Equitable Expatriate Family Benefits (HR-POL-21 & HR-GLN-01): International male and female staff receive equal CCHI-compliant family medical insurance (covering spouses and sponsored children), annual round-trip economy air tickets to their home countries for themselves and eligible dependents, and full statutory End-of-Service Awards under Articles 84–87 of the Saudi Labor Law.

• Rights of Female Staff (HR-POL-19, HR-POL-21 & HR-POL-24):

  • Pay Scale Equity & Leadership Representation: Governed by the Workforce Planning Policy (HR-POL-24), salaries are benchmarked strictly to the mid-point of the job grade and qualification scale with a verified 1:1 base-pay ratio between men and women. Women represent about 73% of senior academic staff at BMC.

  • Comprehensive Maternal & Family Protections: Female employees (Saudi and international) enjoy the exact same right as male employees to enroll dependent spouses and children in BMC’s medical insurance (HR-POL-21, Section 4.1), 12 weeks (90 days) of fully paid maternity leave (plus 30 paid days for a sick/special-needs newborn), paid breastfeeding breaks, 4 months and 10 days of paid Eddah leave, full end-of-service entitlement if resigning within 6 months of marriage or 3 months of childbirth, and a 25% childcare discount.

4) Collective Voice, Grievance Redressal & Non-Retaliation Guarantees

To ensure employees can freely exercise their labor rights and voice collective or individual concerns regarding working conditions, pay, or policies:

• Institutional Surveys & Digital Induction: BMC actively engages faculty and staff in the national ETEC Quality of University Education Survey, annual Employee Satisfaction Surveys, and the interactive Digital Employee Induction Program ("One Experience, One Culture, One Vision") via the Employee Self-Service (ESS) portal to ensure universal awareness of labor rights.

• Multi-Channel Grievance & Appeal Mechanisms (HR-GLN-01 & HR-POL-11): All employees have unrestricted access to: (1) the automated HR Help Desk Ticketing System (covering Payroll/Compensation, Personnel Rights, and Government Relations), (2) the formal Grievance & Complaint Procedure (HR-GLN-01, pp. 78–79) with escalation to the Grievance Committee and Vice President, (3) the Performance Evaluation Appeal Process (HR-POL-11, Section 2.1.10) within 10 working days, and (4) the Disciplinary Appeal Process (5 working days for admin/technical staff; 15 days for faculty under HR-POL-36, Section 7.10).

• Ironclad Whistleblower & Anti-Retaliation Protection: BMC enforces a strict zero-tolerance policy against retaliation (HR-GLN-01, p. 79; HR-POL-36, Section 1.1.9), guaranteeing that no employee—female, male, national, or international—faces any adverse employment consequence for exercising their labor rights or raising workplace grievances.