JEDDAH, 13 July — Saudi workers of British Aerospace yesterday thanked the Defense and Aviation Ministry for its support for their "legitimate cause" and said they will not withdraw their case against BAE.
"The cooperative labor committee of BAE workers in Dhahran has decided not to withdraw the case against the company," the committee said in a press statement endorsed by 497 Saudi workers.
The committee said it will continue to press for all its 12 demands, which are based on Shariah, Saudi labor law and the terms of the contract between the workers and the company.
The Saudi ministry in a statement on Wednesday defended the right of Saudis employed by BAE Systems to sue the British firm for discrimination. The ministry said it would not allow infringement of the rights of Saudi workers at the company.
The Saudi employees are demanding equal treatment with British and Australian colleagues at the Al-Yamamah project who receive higher salaries, more benefits, and are appointed on a permanent basis, the employees’ lawyer Jamal Al-Muzain said.
Muzain said he had filed a lawsuit on Monday at the Dammam labor court on behalf of Al-Yamamah employees in the Eastern Province. More cases have since been filed in Riyadh, Tabuk and Taif, he said.
"The ministry has clearly stated now that it will not agree to any new steps on the part of the company in violation of the rights and privileges of the Saudi workers," Muzain said.
"The ministry also guarantees job security for Saudi workers," the lawyer said, adding that the statement highlighted the legitimacy and justness of the workers’ demand. A BAE official said on Thursday that the company would implement the ministry’s instructions to protect the rights of Saudi workers and improve their work conditions. "We’ll implement the instructions of the Saudi ministry and its demands (regarding rights of Saudi workers)," Walid Abu Khaled, director of international contacts and public relations, told Arab News. The workers said they decided to pursue the case to prevent the company from playing with their future and causing them trouble and job insecurity.
The labor court adjourned until Aug. 20 to hear the company’s defense. The court’s rulings can be appealed at Riyadh’s court of appeals, whose verdicts are final.
The problem was triggered by a company plan launched several months ago to change the employment contracts of Saudis from permanent to annual contracts, thus giving the company the power to terminate jobs and cut salaries.
In the first BAE response to a statement made by the Defense Ministry on Wednesday, Abu Khaled said: "The demands from the air force and the Defense Ministry will be implemented verbatim. We used to implement their requests in the past. We are completing implementation of the procedures which they requested from the company."
Abu Khaled denied suggestions that BAE had reduced the salaries of Saudi workers. "It’s just their fears, and the reason is lack of proper contact between the company and employees," he added.
"We have held face-to-face talks with Saudi workers and have conveyed their problems and fears to higher authorities at the company and the defense ministry. In the light of these efforts there will be big improvement in the situation of Saudi workers," he said.
"There is no reason for further worries after the statement of the Defense Ministry, which was totally in favor of the Saudi workers," he pointed out.
