JEDDAH: Imagine surviving on SR50 for a month. Almost impossible to imagine, isn’t it? But this is a painful truth for garbage collector Abdul Samad, a Bangladeshi who came to the Kingdom two years ago.
Extreme poverty and a big family to support were the motivations for him to accept a job away from his homeland and for SR400 ($106) a month, but when he came to begin work he discovered his wage would be less than agreed-upon, a common practice called “contract substitution” when a worker’s wage winds up being lower than what he or she agreed on before taking the job. This is illegal under Saudi labor regulations.
“I was told by the office that recruited me in Bangladesh that the salary was SR400, but when I came here I found out that it is SR350,” he said. “But I was not the only one, me and five hundred other workers were lied to.” So, Samad sends SR300 home every month and keeps 50 to feed himself. He is provided communal housing like other street cleaners and garbage collectors; those living conditions can often be cramped and filthy for low-income foreign workers.
“I am trying to provide an education for my eldest son so that he can get a better job and help the family,” he said. “Sometimes I have to go without a meal, because I can’t afford to buy food every day.”
Garbage collector Muzhar was seen by Arab News scrounging for food out of a fast food dumpster. He tossed some pieces of partially eaten meals to the stray cats; other leftovers he kept for himself.
Muzhar’s story is similar to Abdul Samad’s: Poverty and a family to support made him accept these working conditions. Muzhar sadly pointed to the cats. “We are both poor and nobody cares about what happens to us,” he said.
