JEDDAH, 6 January 2003 — The higher committee for labor disputes in the Kingdom has upheld the verdict of a lower committee ordering a Saudi businessman to pay SR5 million in compensation to 74 of his former employees who lost their livelihood when he closed his company and fled the country five years ago.
Nabeel Mugharbil, an attorney representing the 74 African workers, said the authorities have taken steps to implement the verdict.
The Africans were working for a company engaged in loading and unloading grain at the Jeddah Islamic Port. The company closed down five years ago and the owner left the country without settling the claims of his employees. As the businessman did not complete official formalities for issuing exit visas for the workers, they were not even able to return to their home countries.
The primary labor disputes settlement committee under the Ministry of Labor, while ruling in a case filed by the African laborers against their employer, ordered the businessman to pay SR5 million to the laborers in salary dues and end-of-service claims.
He was also ordered to complete the exit-visa formalities so that the workers can leave the Kingdom.
Mugharbil said that the authorities are determined to implement the committee’s verdict, as the employer is unwilling to fulfill his legal obligations. The major obstacle in its implementation, however, is the businessman’s absence from the country, the attorney said.
The attorneys representing the businessman are not authorized to undertake the payments on his behalf, he added.
Mugharbil said Makkah Governor Prince Abdul Majeed has expressed concern about the workers’ plight, which was brought to his attention last week.
A relative of the businessman said the man was living outside the country because he was not in a position to discharge his financial obligations toward his former employees.
