MAKKAH: For the second day in a row, Adil Al-Mahrouqi, a 31-year-old Saudi citizen, has continued his sit-in near Makkah’s Labor Office in protest at the slow progress of his case at an employment tribunal against unfair dismissal.

What makes Al-Mahrouqi’s picket iconic is that he has brought his furniture along with him as he was evicted from his apartment for not paying rent, something he says is difficult since he has no job and no income.

Al-Mahrouqi filed a lawsuit against his former employer, a company that owns a series of hotels in Makkah, which sacked him from his job as “assistant sales manager” around 18 months ago. Exasperated by the Labor Office’s slow progress, the 31-year-old is staging a sit-in to speed things up.

Al-Mahrouqi was also on hunger strike. “I had to respect the wishes of my neighbors who requested me to end the hunger strike,” he said.

“I began working as a sales agent for the company around four years ago and after making sales of over SR2.5 million, I was promoted to ‘assistant sales manager’ and transferred to run a hotel tower with a monthly salary of SR7,000,” said Al-Mahrouqi.

He added that about 18 months ago, the company got an international firm to run the towers and that the new company gave employees new job contracts and wage cuts.

“Everyone else’s salary was cut by SR900, except mine — my salary was cut from SR7,000 to SR3,000 and they also changed my job title to ‘sales agent,’” he said.

As a result, he began negotiating with the new director of human resources about the change. The director, however, asked him to resign and sign a letter that he would not complain against the company at which he would receive all of his emoluments. “I naturally refused this offer,” said Al-Mahrouqi, adding that he nevertheless received a check containing all of his emoluments and so filed a complaint with the Makkah governorate, which referred the case to the Labor Office.

The Labor Office held six hearings, none of which were attended by his employer.

“The Labor Office then ruled in their absence that I be given my original job back and that all my accumulated salaries be paid to me,” he said.

“The company appealed the verdict and the case was referred to the Higher Labor Authority in Riyadh to settle the dispute,” he said, adding that the authority asked him to jot down his objections to the verdict, something that he did.

“The authority postponed the case to next June but after heated negotiations they brought the date forward to April ... as a result I’m going to sit in front of the Labor Office until then,” he said.

Asked why he had chosen to stage his sit-in near the Labor Office, Al-Mahrouqi said it is because the office has failed to promptly settle his case. “I was unable to pay my rent and so my wife left me with our two children to live with her father ... this problem has taken a toll on me and on my marriage. I am now totally wrecked. I do not know what to do or where to go,” he said.