RIYADH: Following three years of litigation, the Supreme Labor Commission (SLC) has ordered a Saudi company to pay the back wages of an Indian worker who did not receive his salary for five months.
Vijay Kumar, 42, a carpenter who specializes in making pantry cupboards, went to the labor court in Riyadh on Dec. 16, 2005, seeking redress. “It was a long wait to get my problem solved although the amount requested was a small sum,” Kumar said, adding that his case was with the tribunal for 17 months and with the SLC for 19 months.
Kumar said if he had not filed the case, then he would have been working for the company without salary for a longer period. The SLC ordered the company to pay Kumar all his salary dues, an additional allowance of SR3,000 and an air ticket home.
Kumar said the company’s owner deliberately dragged out the case to prolong his ordeal. “A lot of dissatisfied workers do not go to courts against their employers because of the undue delay in dispensing such cases,” he added.
Some seven million foreigners work in the Kingdom, the majority of them for private companies or individuals.
The Indian Embassy in Riyadh issued Kumar with an identification letter while his case was under review.
“The mission sent an interpreter for the first hearing, after which I had to hire my own interpreter for the subsequent hearings,” Kumar said.
“I earned my living doing odd jobs during the period,” he said, adding that he was grateful to social workers who supported him through his ordeal.
Kumar said his wife Rajalakshmi and 15-year-old son are anxiously awaiting his return home.
“I had the satisfaction of winning this case and setting an example to other distressed workers who are afraid to go through the legal process against unscrupulous employers,” he said.
