RIYADH, 8 March 2006 — Some 600 employees of a Saudi contracting company have been languishing here without work and wages for the last six months.
Electrical contracting firm Nebras Al-Sharq was taken to court on Dec. 28 when its employees, South Asians and Arabs, filed a case against it for non-payment of wages, according to a representation from its employees.
Nebras Al-Sharq’s general manager was not available for comment when Arab News called the company seeking their side of the story.
It all started when the establishment, located in the Sulay area of Riyadh, was lagging behind in the disbursement of wages. When the arrears accumulated over a six-month period, the employees filed a lawsuit against it in the labor court, which then forwarded it to the Riyadh Governorate.
Following its intervention, one of the employees said they received three months’ salaries in back wages, with the promise to clear the pending dues soon. However, they went back on their word and the dues again started piling up.
The employee said that on Feb. 11, they again petitioned to the Riyadh Governorate for his intervention in the matter. This time the chief of the Malaz police station wanted to hold talks with the company’s representative. Instead, they assigned an Arab expatriate to handle the matter. The latter told the police official that the company stands committed to the settlement of arrears, and this would be done in the near future.
Based on the assurance, the police official submitted a report to the governorate for its information. “The case is now pending in the Labor Court and the governorate and we’re expecting the payment of dues through the court,” the employee said.
To make matters worse, he pointed out, the owner of the project terminated the contract with that company on Feb. 12, leaving hundreds of its employees in the lurch. With no work and no pay in sight, they live from hand to mouth longing for an end to their miserable plight.
