DAMMAM, 2 March — About eighty foreigners, 61 of them Indians, working for a private establishment in Jubail have been virtually held prisoner by their sponsor. These workers have not been paid salary for nearly one year and are on the verge of starvation.
Not only that, the landlord of the camp where they have been accommodated has now disconnected water and electricity supply. The landlord claims that the sponsor of these workers has not paid the rent for a long period.
The workers have already filed a complaint against their sponsor in a labor court. They have also sent petitions to the governorate and the Indian Embassy in Riyadh. On Feb. 12, the embassy sent a letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs asking it to intervene to redress the plight of these hapless workers.
According to the embassy letter, the sponsor has been harassing the workers physically and mentally. It said some of the workers were even evicted from their accommodation.
One worker who contacted Arab News said that their living condition was miserable and many of them were virtually starving. “Some of the workers who fell ill were without any medication,” he said.
Reports said authorities in Jubail in their effort to resolve the crisis called a meeting of the workers and their sponsor. In the meeting the sponsor was informed that some companies in Jubail were ready to absorb his workers provided he released them. After lengthy discussions and persuasion the sponsor agreed to release his workers.
However, the workers said when they approached him for the release papers he demanded SR1,000 from each of them. “How could we pay him any money when we have not been paid salary for more than a year,” said one Nepalese worker.
“When we pleaded that we don’t have any money and requested him to give us release, he abused us and said that it was not his problem. He suggested that we should borrow the amount from our friends,” said an Indian worker.
He said the case has since been transferred to Dammam labor court. “With no money it is very difficult for us to attend the hearings there.”
The next hearing in the case is set for tomorrow.
The workers allege that the sponsor using his influence with some officials has started harassing and abusing them. “Plain clothes policemen come to our camp late in the night and abuse us and beat us. They say that if we will not withdraw our case we will face the worst.”
“We came here to earn a better living for our family, but now our own subsistence is in danger. Our only hope now is the Saudi legal system and its swift justice,” said one frustrated worker.
