The workers approached Arab News to make their case public after the company owner decided to sell the Riyadh branch to another company — the move that left the workers unable to determine their work status.
The company representative at the hearing assured to resolve their issues within two weeks, a source told Arab News. “We will wait and hope this will be solved,” one of the workers commented.
A representative of the new company promised to keep the workers on their previous contracts. The delayed salaries of the workers and their end-of-service benefits add up to a total of SR28 million, according to the source. Many of the workers have been working for the company for up to 20 years with salaries ranging between SR1,200 and SR1,500. Asian and Arab nationals as well as a few Saudis lodged a complaint with the Ministry of Labor three times in a row.
The first time was in 2009, when their company promised to pay them if they dropped the case. The company paid, but it delayed payment again, which forced the workers to submit another complaint in mid-2011. As nothing happened, they filed another complaint last December.
The majority of the workers said they knew that staying with the company was “useless,” yet they are not looking for another sponsor, fearing they would not get paid if they transferred their iqamas to other sponsors.
Naming companies or individuals involved in legal disputes is against local rules.
