DAMMAM, 13 April — Hundreds of thousands of expatriates continue to be at the mercy of their sponsors, who in total disregard of Saudi law are depriving them of their basic rights.

Three weeks ago, Interior Minister Prince Naif articulated the Kingdom’s official policy with regard to its foreign guest workers.

“The Kingdom will not differentiate between Saudi and expatriate workers,” he stated. “Nor will we accept any hegemony of Saudi sponsors over their foreign employees.”

This statement was welcomed by expatriates, who dared to hope that after so senior a figure had spoken out in their favor, Saudi labor laws and Islamic principles would be brought to bear. That they need the assistance of the full weight of the law in a wide range of areas is beyond question: their treatment often amounts to little more than wholesale exploitation.

It is almost a year since the authorities clarified that the iqama renewal fee, as well as annual exit/re-entry visa fees, were the sole responsibility of employers.

That came as a very pleasant surprise to expatriates, because until then many had been forced to pay their iqama renewal fee (SR750 for one year) and exit/re-entry visa fee (SR200) out of their own pockets. Furthermore, the authorities demanded that not only would sponsors have to pay the fees in the future: they would also be asked to refund workers any fees they themselves had mistakenly paid in the past.

However, one year on and it is clear that change is not going to be easy to bring about.

The then-vice chairman of the Eastern Province Chamber of Commerce, Abdul Rahman Al-Rashid (who has since become its chairman), initially seemed to go the extra mile by saying that the chamber will take up the case of the expatriates, and even told a newspaper that the chamber would open a new cell to receive cases in which the laws governing iqamas and visa fees were being flouted. That promise, though, was not fulfilled.

Elsewhere, it is the usual story: the Saudi authorities issue a clear directive, and almost nobody bothers to implement it. Since the iqama and exit/re-entry visa fee regulation was clarified, for instance, none of the workers contacted by Arab News could confirm that the iqama fees mistakenly paid by them in the past had in fact been reimbursed.

Worse still, almost many companies continue to charge their employees for renewing iqamas and issuing visas.

Such companies include those that supply manpower to the prestigious Saudi Arabian Oil Company and many other government departments. A number are even listed as being among the top 100 companies in the Kingdom.

The clarification by the authorities and the crystal clear statement by Prince Naif have simply not deterred Saudi sponsors from carrying out their illegal activities.

A visit paid by this reporter to the headquarters of a reputed company that owns a chain of hospitals in the Eastern Province and employs more than 400 people found that it is still openly flouting the law.

Moreover, almost all the maintenance and cleaning companies in the Kingdom — many of which have cleaning contracts with the various municipalities — continue to make its menial staff pay the fees.

Many laborers in these companies — most of them Bangladeshis, Indians, Nepalese and Sri Lankans — earn only SR300 per month.

As if to add insult to injury, after making them pay for their iqamas, these companies then confiscate them — leaving their workers vulnerable to arrest for not carrying proper identification with them at all times (a must according to Saudi law).

Mujahidul Islam, a Bangladeshi national working for a national company which employees more than 700, has not been back to his home country for five years.

The reason is that last year his company deducted SR1,000 from his salary after it was made to pay a fine on his behalf.

“I was arrested because I wasn’t carrying my iqama. My company’s policy states that they don’t allow us to keep our iqamas, because they fear we might run away. I’m still clearing the debt I incurred when I bought my visa. With the fine, things have gone from bad to worse. My family would have starved if I hadn’t taken to car washing to supplement my income,” he explained.

Noor Nabi, another Bangladeshi, was arrested near the Dammam Center because he too was not carrying his iqama, which had been kept by his company. He was jailed and forced to pay a similar fine. His company also deducted money from his salary for the period during which he was behind bars.

Another law which is openly flouted demands that companies hiring more than 10 workers must provide them with medical insurance.

When Arab News made investigations at a reputable hospital in the Eastern Province, we discovered that even there this coverage was not being provided.

Indeed, workers there are charged at normal cost price if they have to undertake medical treatment at their own hospital! This would almost be amusing, if it were not so tragic for those workers who suffer financial hardship — or bad health from untreated ailments — as a consequence.

Clarification from the concerned authorities with respect to what is and is not the law is certainly the place to start when it comes to improving conditions for immigrant workers.

However, the evidence clearly indicates that this alone will not force unscrupulous Saudi sponsors into implementing the regulations.

Warnings need to be backed up with punishments for those who simply refuse to do the right thing of their own accord. Examples need to be made of them. That way, it would be made absolutely clear that all government departments were eager to translate into reality what Prince Naif said about the expatriate workers and their rights.

In the meantime, workers continue to hope against hope.