Saudi Govt Hires Lawyers to Ensure Unpaid Workers Their Dues

RIYADH: Several distressed Saudi companies, including Saudi Binladin Group, have now started paying overdue wages to their workers, the Kingdom’s Labor Minister Mufrej Al-Haqabani.

Saudi Binladin Group executives promised him that payments would be completed by September, he was quoted as saying by Arab News.

Saudi Oger is the only company still broadly withholding payments, and the ministry will press foreigners’ wage claims through the Kingdom’s labor dispute system, Al-Haqbani reportedly said.

“Saudi Oger — now we’ll take it to the courts. Now we are responsible for that. We’ve hired lawyers,” he reportedly said. “As the ministry, we will go through the labor dispute courts to go after Saudi Oger and to collect the claims.”

He was also quoted as saying that the troubles at Oger were not a sign of problems with Saudi Arabia’s overall employment of foreign workers, most of whom were choosing to remain in the country.

“This is a small segment…of the labor market. We have more than 10 million expats working happily here in the country. When a company like Saudi Oger fails to comply with the rules, this will never destroy the good image of our labor market.”

A number of workers in labor camps waiting for their dues to be settled have decided not to leave until their cases are cleared, reported Arab News.

They reportedly say they fear that if they leave they will end up with nothing at all.

The Labor Ministry, along with embassies, is taking care of basic services at the camps.

Two weeks ago, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman set aside SR100 million to help the stranded workers, mostly from the Philippines, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh.

(Source: FilipinoTimes.ae)