o Contractor given grace period to meet Nitaqat target o Workers to have residency permits renewed
Badea Abu Al-Naja Saudi Gazette MAKKAH – A five-day strike involving Makkah street cleaners that started on Tuesday ended after the local cleaning contractor, with the help of the Makkah mayoralty, resolved a dispute with the Ministry of Labor, according to a mayoralty statement on Sunday. Street cleaners in Makkah, the holy sites and nearby villages decided to go on a strike because their employer failed to renew residency permits for 4,249 workers, the statement said. The contractor could not meet the Saudization percentage required by the Ministry of Labor and his company fell into the red category (indicating the company was way below Saudization targets) of the Nitaqat system, the statement added. The Makkah mayoralty contacted the Ministry of Labor and agreed with officials to allow the contractor to meet Saudization targets over the next few years, the statement said. The ministry then allowed the contractor to renew the residency permits of its employees, the statement added. The statement said the mayoralty will not pay the contractor until it can prove that all cleaners have been paid their monthly wages. During the five-day strike, the mayoralty hired 700 workers and cleaning equipment to remove garbage that had accumulated in the main streets and areas surrounding the Grand Mosque, the statement said. The mayoralty expressed appreciation to government authorities that helped in convincing cleaners to resume work. All street cleaners went back to work on Sunday. The mayoralty announced that it has formed a committee to set out requirements and specifications for new cleaning projects in Makkah and the holy sites. The committee will issue five contracts instead of one to provide cleaning services to Makah. It urged the general public to keep Makkah clean and never throw trash away in streets and roads. During the strike, Makkah residents expressed annoyance and anger at rubbish piling up in the streets. Ahmad Nafadi, a local citizen, said this is not the first time cleaners decided to go on strike in Makkah. Nafadi asked concerned authorities to step in and find a permanent solution for this problem. Khalid Bashdadah said the accumulated garbage posed a grave risk to public health and the environment. Pulmonary and breathing problems have increased recently due to odors coming from the garbage strewn across the streets. Omar Bin Afif said when garbage piles up in the streets it can cause epidemics and increase fire risks. Salih Ezat, director of the disasters department at the Makkah mayoralty, said his department rented equipment, trucks and workers when the cleaners went on strike. Workers were dispatched to different streets and districts and started removing piles of garbage from the streets. “Over 2,200 tons of garbage were taken off the streets within four days.” Dr. Waleed Arafat, chest consultant at Alawi Tunsi Hospital in Makkah, said trash odors have a negative impact on the respiratory system. Flies carry different respiratory diseases that might cause asthma and lead to death, according to Arafat.
