29/04/2021
Saudi Arabia: 250 construction workers facing unpaid wages for over 3 months | Saudi – Gulf News
In Pictures: Friday prayers held in Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia with social distancing
Photos: When sand and dust enveloped Saudi Arabia
Abu Dhabi: Hundreds of workers in a Mecca-based construction company have faced over three months of unpaid
wages, local media reported.
is wage abuse, experienced by 250 workers, mostly from Asian countries, was brought to the knowledge of the
Saudi Ministry of Human Resources, which issued a stern warning to the company to settle the workers’ dues
within a week, Al Watan newspaper reported.
e ministry called on all companies to ensure timely payment of workers’ wages.
In December last year, Saudi Arabia implemented the final phase of the wage protection programme.
In that phase, companies that employ one to four workers were obligated to deposit the workers’ wages in their
bank accounts. us, all facilities are now bound by such an obligation.
e wage protection system, first introduced in August 2013, monitors the process of disbursing wages for all
workers (citizens and residents) in private-sector facilities. It aims to establish a database that comprises updated
information about wage payment, and determining the level of commitment by companies towards due payment
of wages.
Three months
Workers, most of whom work in the maintenance sector, complained their financial dues have not been paid for
the last three months and their financial conditions were getting worse day by day.
ey added their burdens increased, especially since many workers have to sustain their families back home, in
addition to other financial obligations in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi workers said although the Kingdom approved economic stimulus packages, aimed to preserve the jobs of
citizens in the private sector, the company failed pay salaries, under unjustified and unreasonable pretexts.
One of the workers added that failure to pay their salaries is an abuse of their rights and threatens a humanitarian
and immoral disaster, calling for the need for immediate intervention to resolve their financial claims, and to
respond quickly to their repeated complaints.
Advertisement
Photos: Noor Riyadh light installation festival
lights up the Saudi capital
Program features over 60 artworks comprising large-scale public installations
Published: March 23, 2021 17:04
https://gulfnews.com/world/gulf/saudi/saudi-arabia-250-construction-workers-facing-unpaid-wages-for-over-3-months-1.78577275
2/13