Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — About fifty workers, who have been contacting Saudi Gazette since July this year regarding their unpaid wages, have been moved from their accommodation in Yunbu and are now placed in Jeddah. Some of the workers contacted Saudi Gazette again on Sunday and expressed their disappointment at their missions turning a blind eye to their grievances and the inordinate delay the labor office is taking in deciding their case. They also were bitter at the false promises of their sponsor. Dhabber Gul, a document controller at the company, lamented that he has not get any payment since last October and added that his iqama (residency permit) has expired four and half months ago. "We are stuck here in this accommodation with almost nothing. To add to our misery our (Pakistan) embassy is not responding to us," he said. According to him their sponsor has traveled to the US and the workers are confused and unaware what will happen to their case. "We have been told at the labor office that if our company did not respond within one month then our case will be moved from Yanbu to Madinah. We do not have any money to move around and our iqamas have expired, how would we then follow up our case while we have been placed here in Jeddah?" Gul said. His colleague, Majzoor Hussain, has served the company for over 20 years. "We are basically locked here in the dorm and we are afraid even of going to the mosque because we do not have valid iqamas," he said. Mohammad Farooq, another employee, said: "This will be the second Eid festival that our families will not celebrate since we cannot send them any money." He explained that their subcontracting company has lost its contract with a bigger company and since then their condition has deteriorated and now they have been moved to Jeddah because the bigger company has forced them out of the accommodation. "The situation here in this new dorm is appalling. We live like animals with no money or food. Our careers are destroyed and our families have no earnings. The case is becoming longer and more complicated each passing day," said Farooq. The workers said they want "a peaceful solution" to their problem. Farooq added: "We love Saudi Arabia and we respect the laws, and we hope our message reaches the minister of labor to put an end to our sufferings."
