DAMMAM, 12 October 2003 — Thousands of Asian workers in Saudi Arabia — mainly Bangladeshis, Indians and Sri Lankans — live in desperate conditions which they say amount to bonded labor. The exploitation of menial workers in the Kingdom is no secret, and reports about their circumstances have appeared in almost all Arabic dailies.

Recently a group of Asian workers visited Arab News Gulf Bureau seeking to highlight their problems. Most of the laborers were of Bangladeshi origin and were employed by a cleaning and maintenance company headquartered in Al-Ahsa.

The men and thousands like them are paid a salary of SR300 per month. They work long hours without overtime pay. Accommodation is provided by the company they work for, but there is no food allowance or other benefits. They are entitled to a vacation after two years, but many of them have not seen their country for several years.

Another concern is their legal status. In a recent swoop, the Passports Department arrested several Bangladeshis for not carrying their Iqama. However, each of them had a letter from their company saying that their Iqama had gone for processing to the Passports Department in Al-Ahsa. All the workers were released after a day or two when the company’s representative presented the documents to the relevant authorities.

But the workers told Arab News that the company deducted their salary for the days they were off work while in detention.

“Tell me: Was it our fault?” asked an Indian worker. He said in some instances the Passports Department imposed a fine on workers for not carrying their Iqama, and the company deducted the amount from the workers’ salary too.

Their sponsor, who is based in Al-Ahsa, however, denied the allegations and said the employees were arrested while their Iqamas were being processed at the Passports Department in Al-Ahsa. He added he was not aware of any salary deductions and said he would “look into the matter.”

But the workers say this was not the first time workers have been arrested and had their salaries deducted for the period they spent in detention. “Our supervisor and manager blame us for the arrests, saying that we must have gone to work elsewhere and got arrested in the process,” a worker said.

Recently Interior Minister Prince Naif made it clear that no authority can seize a worker’s ID and that expatriates must carry their ID with them at all times.

According to the workers, their management is flouting these regulations, ostensibly because in the past workers disappeared with their Iqama and took on jobs elsewhere.

Workers admit that they do take up odd jobs elsewhere.

“I work as a part-time house boy in a couple of households and clean half a dozen cars every day to supplement my income,” said one Bangladeshi worker.

“Can anyone really survive on SR300 per month, let alone send money back home for the family?” he asked.

He said that to get the job he had to pay nearly 100,000 Bangladeshi taka (about SR6,500) to a broker.

“We sell our land and our wives’ jewelry and take out loans to get the job. We are told one salary in Bangladesh and quite another when we get here, and none of the benefits they promise us ever materialize. Here all we get is SR300, harassment and pain,” he said.