Dr. Sami Badawood denied there was any problem between his department and the employees, who were employed by a company whose contract with the hospital had been terminated because the Ministry of Finance had not made any provisions to keep them on.
“I hope these employees will realize that,” he told Arab News.
“The fact that these people were sacked did not mean their jobs were not important or that they were a burden on the hospital.”
He added that his department was finding it difficult to cover the services the workers used to provide to the hospital. The employees included 60 women.
Abeer, one of the sacked female workers, told Arab News that they had contacted several authorities including Jeddah Gov. Prince Mishaal ibn Majed to find a solution to their problem.
“We had no other source of income except our jobs in the hospital,” she added.
Anwar Al-Ghamdi, another employee who lost his job, said their problem worsened after they had gathered at the hospital gate demanding to talk to the management.
“We had no intention of attacking the hospital or performing any other illegal action. All we wanted was to talk to the management,” he said.
He hoped the public would understand their suffering, expressing confidence in the country’s leadership to find a solution to their problem.
