Many expats struggle under impact of unpaid wages. One of the main problems facing expatriates working in the private sector in the Kingdom is receiving their monthly salary on time. Many expatriate workers depend a lot on receiving their salaries on time to pay their monthly bills, rent, school fees and buying groceries. Most of them also depend on receiving their salaries on time so they can send remittances to their families back home. Some expatriate workers lost their vehicles to car companies after they kept on missing their monthly lease payments, simply because they were not being paid on time. Others received eviction threats from their Saudi landlords because the rent was not paid or delayed most of the time. An Indian national working as an IT assistant in a private company in Jeddah, who did not wish to reveal his name, told Saudi Gazette that his company delays its employees’ monthly wages for no reason for 10 days, sometimes 15. He said: “I suffer from not receiving my salary on time every month. This has caused a lot of trouble for me. My landlord threatened me once with eviction when I was late with my rent. “Every month I save a small amount of money for the rent. “I have asked the company management repeatedly to pay me on time as I have responsibilities toward my family back home and bills to pay, but with no luck.” “Not getting paid on time is stressful. I keep asking my wife to wait every month because I did not receive my money. “I have an obligation toward my parents back home also.” He thought many times about looking for another job but the company threatened to make the transfer difficult. Nagy Muhammed, a Syrian who fled his war-torn country, said since his arrival in Saudi Arabia he has been suffering from not getting paid on time. “Since I arrived, I started to work for a private company without a contract. They were not paying me my salary on time every month and I think they were taking advantage of the fact I did not have a contract. “The company management did not take into consideration my difficult situation already. “My salary has been delayed for two months and I am left with no choice but to borrow money from my friends. “I was forced to find a part-time job besides my main job to pay some of my expenses. “In addition to my parents, I am supporting my brother and his wife who are not working.” Saad Ahmed, an Egyptian national employed for a private company, had his vehicle towed by the car company because he kept missing his lease payments, which he could not afford because he was not getting paid on time. He said: “Sometimes I am not paid for two months. “According to the rules of the automotive company, they will take the car if I don’t pay my installments for two months. “The company I work for kept delaying my wages and making different excuses every time. “The company agent came and towed the car from the house without informing me, and I lost all the installments that I paid around the year since I bought the car. “Now it’s hard to leave the company that I’m working for because I have not been paid for three months, and if I left now they will not pay me any outstanding dues.” He added that it is useless to complain against the company, as he would only lose his job and the arrears owed to him. “I borrow money from my friends and sometimes from my father and I am searching for another job,” he said. “I also have installments outstanding on a car and house in my home country, and I’m afraid I will lose them also.”
Posted on: Thu, 23 Oct 2014 06:06:49 +0000
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