JEDDAH, 31 January 2003 — Driving a limousine or taxi is not as easy as it seems. Many drivers overwork themselves to pay a the daily fixed sum due to their companies and earn an extra buck. Others, according to reports, are driven to despair by the harassment and misconduct of unscrupulous sponsors. Fifteen drivers of a limousine company tell a sad story.
They are all Indians hired in Bombay, and did not know until they arrived here that they were to work as drivers in a limousine company.
Their sponsor, who lately sold his limousine company to a new management, has withdrawn their iqamas.
They have been passed on to the new owner without receiving their entitlements, and without their iqamas or passports. Two of the drivers have been caught by the police for not possessing legal documents and are currently in Tarhil jail.
Despite repeated calls, the sponsor has not come to their aid. The other drivers live in fear of sharing the same fate. They are also said to be afraid of working in the new company after staff assaulted one of them.
In a desperate move, the group has addressed petitions to the Makkah governor and the Consulate General of India to draw attention to their predicament.
Inquiries show that they were recruited in India in 1996 on an employment contract signed through Bombay-based Al Safa Travel Agency.
“The travel agent charged us 50,000 Indian rupees for each visa. According to the employment contract, we were promised a monthly salary of SR600 with free accommodation. But the local company did not pay our salary and benefits. The company gave each of us a limousine and asked us to operate it as a taxi. We were obliged to pay the company SR125 per day. Our passports remained with the company,” the group has said.
According to the group, the company took their iqamas away two months ago and they were asked to drive without valid documents. They subsequently learned that their sponsor sold the company to another sponsor who allegedly forced them to sign a document that confirmed that all of their entitlements had been settled.
Group sources said that the iqama of five of the drivers was not renewed for the past three years even though management collected a renewal fee of SR750 from each driver.
The group has sought the consulate’s assistance in obtaining a release from the sponsorship of the new company or arrange for their exit after settling all their legal entitlements
