DAMMAM: The Ministry of Labor (MoL) recently directed two private companies to pay the pending salaries of workers, following labor unrest.

In the first case, the MoL ordered a company to pay the wages of 254 employees of various nationalities in the Eastern Province, following a three-hour strike by the workers, local.

According to local media, Abdulaziz Al-Omair, the director of labor office in Al-Jubail, dispatched an inspection team to the location, along with representatives from the Ministry of Interior and industrial security.

He was quoted as saying that the workers gathered at Al-Dafi Park in Al-Jubail and refused to work because their wages had not been paid for three months.

Al-Omair said the situation was brought under control and the representative of the company reached an understanding with the workers. “The company’s official signed a pledge to pay the wages by the end of this month. Workers’ wages were to be transferred to their bank accounts as agreed and all of them resumed work.”

The inspection team, under the leadership of Foad Al-Mzein, was dispatched to another labor gathering over the same problem. The team met with company representatives who signed a pledge to pay the delayed wages.

Al-Omair said that a number of violations had been found during the visit, which included working for employers who are not sponsors. Violations have been dealt with according to the regulations.

He confirmed that delaying wages contradicts rules and regulations and has negative effects on work and the private sector, as well as national interests. He said the Al-Jubail labor office will deal strictly with anyone who violates the rules and regulations.