RIYADH: The Nukhba House for Medical Services, which was severely criticized in the media for leaving a group of 55 Asian workers stranded for several months, has finally paid arrears and provided air tickets to the workers.
“Many paramedics have already left for their home countries. The remaining 12 workers have also received their full arrears,” said Gagan Kumar Singh, one of the remaining workers.
Six workers, who are awaiting their flights back home next week, came to the Arab News office in Riyadh to extend their thanks for highlighting their plight.
On May 14, Arab News reported that the 55 workers were on the verge of starvation as they waited for a Labor Court decision on their complaint over unpaid salaries. Following the report, the Riyadh governorate instructed the local police to expedite the case.
The workers also thanked Nukhba House for sympathetically considering the demands and eventually settling the accounts. The workers thanked the company management for resolving the issue amicably and outside the court.
The Nukhba House came into the news early this year when the US-based Human Rights Watch published a report highlighting the ill-treatment of workers by the company’s management.
According to the report, 55 stranded Pakistani, Indian, Sri Lankan and Bangladeshi workers, including medical professionals and cleaners, complained to the Ministry of Labor that Nukhba has not paid their salaries for several months and also failed to pay for their return tickets.
“But the problem has been resolved fully and satisfactorily by the company,” said Ishtiaq Ahmed, who received his arrears worth SR6,600 last week. Ahmed worked as an assistant pharmacist.
“Our sponsor also gave us our passports to cash the checks,” said Singh, who was hired as laboratory technician from India. The checks were released in a staggered schedule, he added.
Medical technicians and pharmacists employed by Nukhba were earning up to SR1,500 a month. The cleaners were earning less than SR600 a month.
