RIYADH, 8 April 2006 — Female cafeteria workers receive the lowest salary in the school system. Their salaries range from SR500 to SR1,000. Most of these workers depend on this salary as their sole source of income, the daily Al-Watan reported.
“In addition to all the difficulties, we are responsible to pay for products that are expired,” said Nura S., who works at a managerial level at a school cafeteria. “I have complained many times that this policy is not fair, but they say that we must sell the product quickly or else pay for expired food.”
She said that as a widow, her SR1,000 monthly salary is barely enough to support her three kids. Another school cafeteria worker said she earns SR900 a month and pays SR150 of her paycheck on transportation to and from work.
“I am required to be in work at 6 a.m., which is fine. I must stay until students leave the school. In the past we used to come only one hour before the break. I asked the company to increase my salary but they refused. I work more than what I am getting because I am carrying all the boxes inside the school, organizing the cafeteria and managing the sales to the kids,” she said.
