RIYADH, 1 August — The Foreign Ministry has asked 27 Saudi recruiting companies to pay their dues to the Pakistani Overseas Employment Corporation (OEC). It also called upon the Commerce Ministry to intervene to pressure the Saudi companies to pay up.
Pakistan Embassy in Riyadh refused to comment on the issue, but an official source at the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry told Arab News that most of the defaulters were based in Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Abha, Al-Ahsa and Madinah.
The Commerce Ministry, on its part, is coordinating with the chambers in the six cities and the National Manpower Recruitment Committee to tackle the issue. Arab News learns that some companies have already agreed to pay their dues owed to the Pakistani government agency.
Hussein Al-Adel, secretary-general of the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry, emphasized the importance of settling such issues quickly to ensure adequate inflow of foreign manpower and uphold the Kingdom’s reputation abroad.
Pakistanis represent the third largest expatriate work force in the Kingdom, with their number crossing 800,000. A majority of them work in the construction industry.
