RIYADH, 9 August — The dispute between Saudi employees and BAE Systems has taken a new turn with the company’s appeal to the Higher Arbitration Committee against the verdict of the Labor Department’s Jeddah-based Primary Arbitration Committee to stop actions against three employees.
The appeal comes almost simultaneously with the company’s announcement to cancel dismissals and other measures adversely affecting the interests of Saudi employees following the orders of the Ministry of Defense and Aviation to protect the salaries and other rights of the employees and continue with the contract unchanged .
The company’s newly introduced annual contract for Saudi employees did not guarantee the existing benefits.
Abdul Hadi Al-Abdullah, director of human resources at the BAE told Arab News that the company, which intended to reinstate the employees, was prompted to make the appeal in response to the directives from Al-Yamamah Project, which has control over Saudi employees as per the changed contract.
Al-Abdullah explained that three Saudi employees — Bassam Al-Zarqi, Abdul Aziz Al-Tuwaijeri and Yahya Al-Fifi — were sacked because they did not sign the application forms to continue in BAE service under new terms. These forms were distributed to all Saudi employees last year.
Their refusal to sign them was construed as their unwillingness to continue in the company, Abdullah said.
The official said: "Al-Yamamah Project rejected the company’s willingness to reinstate the employees and insisted on proceeding with the appeal." BAE, however, was awaiting the decision of the Higher Arbitration Committee. "The verdict will be submitted to Al-Yamamah and we will act according to its instructions," he said.
Earlier the Preliminary Arbitration Committee in Jeddah ruled against the dismissal of the three employees stating that the committee could not find any violation on the part of the employees to deserve the arbitrary cancellation of their contracts and dismissal from the company. The committee also observed that the refusal to sign a new contract with an unfavorable time clause did not amount to a violation deserving dismissal from their jobs as their service was governed by an earlier contract.
