JEDDAH, 1 January 2003 — A number of social workers employed at the detox and mental diseases wards at Al-Amal Center for Mental Health in Riyadh have complained about discrimination against them in their salary structure and other working conditions, Al-Watan reported yesterday.
They face very serious occupational hazards from the violent patients in the hospital but no allowances are paid to compensate for their hazards. They also complain about the deduction of SR600 from their monthly pay as contribution to the social insurance scheme. They said though they are skilled and specially trained staff they received salary that was not much different from that of the security guards in the same hospital.
They also demanded equal treatment with the expatriate workers in other departments of the hospital. The expatriate contract workers have been paid housing allowance, risk allowance etc. while the Saudi workers have to work longer hours and often suffer humiliating and violent treatment from drug addicts who are treated in the wards. They also face the risk of contracting dangerous contagious diseases from which some of the patients suffer.
However the complaining workers requested not to publish their names, as they feared retaliatory steps from the hospital authorities.
Hospital authorities said efforts are under way to improve the working condition of the social workers. The difference in pay is because they are working on a year to year contract and according to the provision of the budgetary allocation to the scheme under which they are working while other workers are governed by civil service regulations.
