MADINAH, 14 May 2005 — More than 2,000 city cleaners gathered in a public square in Madinah on Thursday protesting what they claimed their employer’s failure to get them legal residence permits.
Police and city officials intervened after the protesters refused to start work and staged a sit-in near the industrial area of the city, Al-Madinah newspaper reported yesterday.
The problem started Thursday morning when the cleaning workers told shift supervisors that they would not start work until all of them were issued their iqamas. The supervisors tried in vain to convince the workers that the work permits issued by the company are enough for them to move around town. The workers rejected promises by the supervisors to find a solution to the problem later.
At this stage, police and officials from the Madinah Municipality arrived at the scene and called in company officials to explain the situation. A company representative arrived with iqamas of some workers, but the workers insisted that all of them should get their iqamas.
The negotiations continued for more than two hours. The workers finally agreed to resume work after officials promised them that the iqamas would be issued within days.
The company representative justified the management’s action by saying that they feared the workers might run away and look for jobs elsewhere if they were given their iqamas. He said the company issues work permits to the workers to facilitate their movement within the city limits.
