Indian Consul General B.S. Mubarak met Abdul Munem Al-Shahri, director general, Ministry of Labor, Makkah Region, at his office in Jeddah on Sunday. The visit was in connection with the ongoing intensive raids by Saudi authorities on illegal overstayers and defaulters.

They discussed various issues related to employees and employers. The consul general reportedly requested for expediting the cases of many Indians who have filed cases in Labor Court and sought exit visas. These Indians are under the sponsorship of companies that either closed their operations or are blocked by the ministry.

The consul general called for urgent action from labor offices vis-a-vis the applications of workers who are stranded in the Kingdom for no fault of their own and are under huroob. They need to be granted exit visas without the need for any further document or fine, he stated.

The consul general was reportedly assured that valid documents may be issued for those who filed cases in Labor Court to avoid detention by Saudi authorities during the intensive checking carried by the passport office (Jawazat) and police.

The director general expressed his willingness to interfere directly in the cases of groups of workers and he requested Mubarak to inform him about such cases. The consul general was accompanied by S.R.H. Fahmi, consul, Vice Consul (Labor) Anoop Singh and K.P. Iqbal, an official.

The consul general also met with Mohammed Saeed Althaqafi, chairman and head of High Commission Court (labor disputes), Western region, Jeddah, at his office. They discussed various issues related to labor and work disputes. The consul general requested him to expedite the final judgment so as to enable the workers benefit from the judgment from the concerned authorities without further delay. The chairman replied that as per the new labor policy, a special committee comprising the labor minister, deputy labor minister and adviser to the ministry has been formed to finalize the pending cases on priority.