The Labor Office in Makkah has witnessed in the past few days an influx of large number of foreign workers who have filed lawsuits against their Saudi sponsors for breach of contract. The sponsors were sued for withholding passports, salary delays and not renewing residency cards of the employees.

The expatriate workers complained about the slow pace of the proceedings and sponsors ignoring court hearings. All this makes them doubtful of getting justice.

According to statistics, more than 3,740 foreign workers have filed lawsuits against their Saudi sponsors in 12 regions across the Kingdom. Makkah courts alone have registered 471 different cases.

A number of foreign workers spoke to local media, detailing the nature of their complaints.

Abdulati Abdulsalam, a plumber, said that he had been facing problems with his sponsor for six months now and has filed more than one complaint against him at the Primary Commission involving delays in paying him his wages and not disbursing part of his entitlements.

Pakistani worker Haqaqel Hakim said: “I filed a complaint against my sponsor at the Labor Office because I have not received my salary for eight months. The other problem is the slow process in handling cases linked with travel bans for foreign workers.”

Sameer Othman said his case is in the hands of the Primary Commission against his Saudi sponsor who refused to renew his residency card unless he paid him SR20,000. “I cannot afford to pay this amount of money. I work as a cleaner and I only earn SR1,700 which barely covers my expenses. However, my problem has been complicated with my sponsor also filing a report against me saying that I have run away while the case is still in court,” said Othman.

Yaseen Abdulaziz, another worker, said: “I came to the Kingdom five years ago, and since I set foot in this country, I have been unable to go back home because my sponsor is withholding my passport and has banned me from traveling to see my sick daughter who is terminally ill.”

Abdullah bin Sadeeq Fallatah, lawyer and legal counsel, said any foreign worker who is under the sponsorship of a Saudi citizen has the right to go to the Labor Office and file a complaint at the Primary Commission for Settlement of Labor Disputes and demand his rights in accordance with the contract signed by the two parties.

“Other disputes such as maltreatment, household issues and others are in the jurisdiction of specialized courts. Anyone who feels his rights have been violated should approach these courts and claim his lawful rights,” explained Fallatah.

Unfortunately, he added, some court procedures can stretch over a period of more than two years. Moreover, some foreign workers are ignorant about the legal procedures followed in prosecutions and lawsuits, while others fear the fate they might meet once the complaint is filed.

Fallatah said the litigation process gets more complicated because the dates between sessions are months apart and the number of judges is small. This leads to the backlog of cases piling up and the litigation process becoming lengthy and costly.

He said the system is further skewed against the worker with the judicial bodies recommending that the names of the sponsors who are subjected to court rulings not be named, except in such serious cases as murder.