JEDDAH, 10 May 2006 — When two banks merge operations and lay off workers, what can the workers do about it? As one lawyer who specializes in labor issues points out: You take your employers to court. And this right, he says, is given equally to expatriates and Saudis alike.
The problem is, a lot of expatriate workers aren’t aware of their rights, says Saudi lawyer Khaled Abu Rashed. Though the labor law in the Kingdom is meant to clearly regulate employee’s relationship with their employer there is a lot of misunderstanding and hustling going on between the two sides of the capitalism coin.
Abu Rashed explained to Arab News that many expatriate workers in Saudi Arabia are simply unaware of their rights. Furthermore, a new labor law that went into effect in April has modified existing laws.
Abu Rashed begins by saying what rights expat workers don’t have; the legal system does not provide a lawyer to workers who cannot afford legal counsel. This applies to both Saudi and expatriates.
So his first piece of advice to workers is to find legal counsel. He suggests that people with little cash to spare consider seeking legal advice if not full representation.
“People who cannot hire lawyers to take their cases to the courts can still ask for legal advice,” said Abu Rashed. “The legal advice fees are affordable for most people.”
Abu Rashed points out that there are no official classifications for lawyers in the Kingdom, but that they generally stay within an area of specialty, such as corporate, labor, or custody cases.
The Kingdom lacks a comprehensive database for contacts and information. He says the best way to find a lawyer is to first check with embassies and consulates to see if they have recommendations. Failing that, there’s always the yellow pages or 905 for directory assistance.
A common complaint among expatriate workers is the issue of overtime. Employers often expect their foreign workers to put in more than the requisite eight hours per day. And in some cases these employees aren’t paid overtime for these extra hours.
“That is against Saudi labor law,” said Abu Rashed.
The lawyer advises that employees should get demands for extra hours in writing. If they can document their overtime they have a good chance of asserting their rights.
As the Kingdom continues its drive to Saudize its labor force by replacing foreign workers with domestic ones, Abu Rashed says that even though Saudization is a noble effort to address the country’s unemployment woes, Saudi workers cannot arbitrarily replace foreign workers. If expatriates perform their duties satisfactorily, they may be replaced only after their contract expires.
Abu Rashed said it is possible for workers to flex their muscle in a court of law, especially collectively. In a country that outlaws labor unions, the courts are one of the few effective ways to get employers to abide by workers’ demands.
In one famous case recently, Al-Rajhi Bank employees were supposed to be transferred to Bank Albilad after the two merged operations. Instead, they were laid off. The workers later won their demands in a court of law. The interesting thing about this case, said Abu Rashed, was that the workers were a mix of Saudis and foreigners working together to earn their rights.
There was also the case of a Greek shoes company that successfully filed a lawsuit against Saudi merchants and won that case. Abu Khaled said a couple of months ago the International Air Traffic Association won a case in the Saudi courts against several Saudi travel agencies that failed to pay the IATA ticketing fees worth millions of riyals.
Abu Khaled explained that though Saudi juridical system is based on Islamic rules derived from the Holy Qur’an, there are specific ministerial committees that have their own special litigation system within the Ministries of Labor and Commerce and the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency. These committees work with the judicial system.
Abu Rashed said that the main problem that faces lawyers and defendants alike is the long time that cases take in courts. He said that primarily happens due to the insufficient number of judges.
— Editor’s Note: Arab News columnist Muhammad Jaber Nader offers legal advice in his weekly column “The Law and You,” which appears every Saturday.
