ARAR — Many foreigners came to work in Saudi Arabia looking for a better income so that they could provide for their families and help them lead a decent life. On arriving in the Kingdom, however, at least some of them realized that the dreamland that they had tried so hard to reach is not what it was purported to be. They soon discovered that they would not be paid the salaries they were promised and their employers would not even pay even their reduced salary on time. This had forced many of them to take up odd jobs such as selling bottled water at traffic lights or collecting empty soft drink cans to make a few extra bucks for their daily upkeep. Just when they thought that such side jobs would make up for their delayed salaries and low income, they faced another obstacle. Their Saudi sponsors started blackmailing them. They were asked to bear the money for the renewal of their labor and residency permits. Many employers are transferring the burden of increased government fees to the shoulders of the hapless workers thus defeating the very purpose of such increases. Although the authorities impose deterring penalties on anyone caught abusing the laws in force and taking advantage of expatriate workers, the ground reality is appalling. A group of workers spoke to Alsharq newspaper about their sufferings and exploitation in the hands of greedy employers. Some of them said their employers failed to provide them with proper accommodation and they live in tiny rooms in old buildings. When Alsharq visited some of those workers in their residences, it found most of them living in miserable conditions. Jaweel, from Bangladesh, said he came to the Kingdom a few years ago to work for an operation and maintenance business. His salary was SR500 a month and the employer took SR150 off for the recruitment visa fees. Jaweel also had to spend SR150 on calling cards every month to keep in touch with his family back home. He has three little sisters and a brother in addition to his parents. He barely saves anything of his salary. He had to do a side job for survival. He found one in a vegetable store from 3 p.m. to midnight for SR35 a day. Jaweel works 18 hours a day. He lives in a small room with 10 of his compatriots. Assadul Zaman from Bangladesh refused to talk to Alsharq in the beginning for fear of reprisal from his Arab supervisor. He said the supervisor might beat him if he knew what Zaman had done. The reporter assured Zaman that he would stand up for him and would not let anyone touch him. Feeling assured, Zaman said he had been working for a company for six years for a monthly salary of SR650. “I work 12 hours a day. The money barely gets me by after I transfer some of it to my family every two months. I chip in with 16 other people to cook lunch and pay the room’s rent.” His company rented a small room to accommodate 20 of its expatriate workers. It does not care about the dangers such a small place poses to those workers. His company does not allow him to do any side jobs. However, he managed to collect empty soft drink cans and sell them to the factory to make SR300 a month. Waheed, a Pakistani, has been working as a truck driver for a cleaning company for two years. His salary is low while the company does not provide him with medical insurance. Moreover, if he is involved in a road accident for any reason, he will have to bear the consequences, including the payment of damages. The same thing goes with traffic fines. “Many workers like me don’t receive any support from their employers. That’s why they and I have to find side jobs to make extra money.” Khamys Al-Hazmi, deputy mayor of the Northern Border city, said if cleaning workers filed a complaint against the company because it delayed paying their salaries for three months, the mayoralty would deduct the amount from the entitlements of the company and pay the workers their dues. A source in the Ministry of Labor told Alsharq that the salary of any worker was set according to the agreement made between the worker and employer.
Posted on: Mon, 08 Jul 2013 01:29:30 +0000
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