RIYADH, 31 July — Saudi workers at BAE Systems in Riyadh and Dhahran have insisted on their rights spelled out in the latest statement of Ministry of Defense and criticized BAE’s decision to go ahead with its plans to modify their contracts from permanent to annual.
“BAE is claiming that they are carrying out the instructions of the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF),” said a statement endorsed by the two labor committees in Riyadh and Dhahran which was sent to Arab News yesterday. “But we all know that that RSAF is part of the Ministry of Defense that assured us of our rights and as was published in the media it would not allow infringement of the rights of Saudi workers at the company,” the two committees said.
As for the company’s claim that 70 percent of Saudi employees have accepted the new contracts, the statement said these workers have been forced to sign or face termination. “Is this a legal contract?” the statement asked.
Replying to a recent BAE statement that the company is applying Shariah and Saudi labor law, the committees’ statement mentioned the recent ruling of the preliminary committee of Jeddah Labor Office that illustrates very clearly the illegitimacy of the company’s decision to terminate one of the Saudi employees because he had refused to sign the new contract.
Commenting on the newly launched management development program, the statement said, “It is a program designed especially for the administrative staff and does not include those who are affected by the new measures.”
Meanwhile, the company’s recent move has forced some Saudi staff to resign from their posts and look for other Saudi institutions that guarantee job security for them and their dependents.
“I resigned in protest against the latest measures adopted by the company and the unbearable situation caused by a number of illegal actions and discrimination,” said Ahmad Al-Taheeny, one of the BAE’s Saudi employees who resigned as lecturer in the Department of English. Al-Taheny has a Masters degree in applied linguistics and is working now as the head of the English Department at the Banking Institute.
“I submitted my resignation last Ramadan because the company’s plan to change my contract is against the labor law,” he added.
“You cannot sign away your rights. You have to worry about your kids’ future,” said another employee who chose to be anonymous.
“A one-year-long contract is not a secure job. It is just an indirect way of ending your services,” he added.
