RIYADH, 6 May 2003 — The labor dispute between three Saudi employees sacked by BAE Systems and their former employer has come to an end as the Higher Arbitration Committee in Riyadh ruled against reinstating the employees.
The Higher Arbitration Committee described the dismissal of the three employees as illegal and asked the company to pay SR180,000 in compensation to each of the employees in addition to their end-of-service benefits and holiday allowances.
The employees expressed their anger and dissatisfaction over the ruling, describing it as “a clear violation of Article 75,” which ensures their right to get back their jobs. The committee’s decision was contradictory, they said.
“The decision describes the dismissal as illegal but asks for compensation for the dismissal,” they said.
“We asked to be reinstated, not compensated,” they added.
Almost a year ago, the Preliminary Arbitration Committees in Dammam and Jeddah had ruled against the dismissal of Yahya Al-Fifi, Bassam Al-Zargi and Abdulaziz Al-Tuwaijri, three Saudi employees working for BAE Systems in Dhahran and Tabuk.
The rulings stated that the committees could not find any violation on the part of the employees warranting the arbitrary cancellation of their contracts and dismissal from the company.
The committees also observed that the refusal to sign a new contract with an unfavorable time clause did not amount to a violation justifying dismissal from their jobs as their service was governed by an earlier contract.
BAE Systems appealed to the Higher Arbitration Committee against the verdicts of the two Primary Arbitration Committees.
Al-Fifi was Command Post Technician and Supervisor at the Dhahran Air Force Installation. Al-Zargi was director of computer networks and database in Tabuk, while Al-Tuwaijri worked as a civil engineer, also in Tabuk.
“If we are forced to accept compensation under the new decision, then compensations should be on the basis of our permanent contracts, which include late salaries, the remaining salaries of the contract, and end-of-service benefits,” they said.
The British company found itself at the center of controversy in September 2001 when it presented all its Saudi employees with the choice either to sign a new annual contract with the company or face termination of contracts, a move considered a clear violation of Saudi labor laws.
The issue spurred the workers to form Saudi Arabia’s first labor committee.
Saudis working in the company in Riyadh, Jeddah, Taif, Tabuk and Khamis Mushayt filed a number of lawsuits against the company calling for the company to revise its decision.
On July 10 last year, the dispute between the company and its Saudi employees took a new turn when the Ministry of Defense and Aviation assured BAE Systems’ Saudi staff that all their rights and privileges would be protected.
The company subsequently announced that it had withdrawn plans to modify staff contracts and agreed to protect the salaries and other rights of the employees and continue the old contracts without modifications.
