RIYADH: Recruitment offices here claimed recently that a senior Saudi scholar has issued a religious edict banning the Ministry of Labor’s imposition of fines as a penalty for delayed workers.

The edict, or fatwa, declared the fines as interest bearing, or riba in Arabic, which is unlawful in Islam. However, this view has been refuted by another senior scholar, a local publication reported recently.

Majid Al-Haqas, spokesman and representative of the recruitment offices objecting to the ministry’s decision, said if there is a 90-day delay, then offices must pay employers back their SR1,750 signing fee, which is 25 percent of the SR7,000 contractual fee. They must also pay employers a further SR3,000 for the one month delay past the 60-day period stipulated by the ministry for hiring workers.

Al-Haqas refused to name the sheikh who issued the fatwa, but said that he is a member of the Council of Senior Scholars and a specialist in financial matters. He said the Board of Grievances in Riyadh has scheduled a session on Oct. 5 submitted by 100 offices objecting to the ministry’s penalties.

In response, Sheikh Abdullah Al-Mutlaq, a top scholar, said it was permissible for the ministry to institute fines and that this did not constitute a form of interest.

Minister of Labor Mufrej Al-Haqabani said the ministry has had numerous discussions with recruitment offices and sees them as the main actors in the regulation and management of the recruitment market.

“We support the offices and interact with them regularly to exchange ideas and experiences, but I am calling for the protection of the rights of the party requesting the worker, and will not allow them to wait extended periods for their arrival,” said Al-Haqabani.

“It is not acceptable for the office to receive large sums of money from employees, only to inform them nine months later that they were unable to bring them a worker.”