MAKKAH, 17 February 2006 — More than one hundred laborers at Umm Al-Qura University went on strike saying they had not been paid salaries for the past five months, Al-Madinah newspaper reported.
The protesting workers blocked the entrance of the university with tires and old furniture. The university administration has blamed the contracting company, that employs the laborers, for the situation.
The manager of the company, Sultan Al-Jifn, contradicted the workers’ claims but admitted that the company paid the salaries late during two months because of financial problems. He accused some laborers of trying to provoke others to go on strike. Laborers have refuted these claims and said the company had started deducting SR25 as water charges from their salaries and also forced them to pay for renewal of iqamas.
