A number of companies in Saudi Arabia are seemingly becoming careless toward their employees – be it Saudis or expatriates — by not offering their just dues, and in some case tending to delay their salaries for months. They act with such impunity because there is no pressure from the authorities on these companies whatsoever to conform to the labor laws and to pay on time. This fact, the nonpayment of salaries, was once again brought to the fore by a recent strike in Riyadh where around 8,000 expatriate employees stopped working because the company was in arrears for three months. Sadly this is not the only case and it is happening frequently. Another case in point is the plight of the cleaning workers in Makkah who were hit by a double whammy. They went on strike late November last year protesting the salary delay and the non-renewal of their Iqamas (residence permits). Residents of the holy city had to suffer for many days living with the garbage piling up and in a place that was a potential health hazard. It was only then people put a real value to the work these people do, and are doing. The trend, however small, of companies defaulting on payment is sending out a negative message about Saudi Arabia. It will damage our reputation as a Kingdom of humanity, especially when it comes to employees' right, hurt our credibility as a place that values work with just laws and also turn away possible investors with such acts harming our reputation as a favored investment destination. There are many other cases of employees suffering in silence in private companies that delay payment to employees even for some time. There may be genuine cases of cash inflow crunch for every company, but companies that repeatedly default with the delay time increasing from days to months is just willful neglect. If this is not a crime, then what is? People expect to get paid for the work they do. And if it is a monthly package then they expect to be paid at the end of the month. For they depend on this to meet their daily needs and planned expenses. There are bills to pay. There is money to be transferred back home. There are school fees to be paid and in a worst-case scenario, have to foot medical bills. Put in a similar situation, managers in such companies will the first to scream if their salaries were delayed. I wish they put themselves in the employee's shoes and feel the pinch of not being paid on time. I wish they feel the humiliation of begging a landlord for time to pay their rent or fees to private school owner. I wish they feel the growing worry of not being able to meet one's monthly installments for goods already bought and the fear of it being repossessed. I wish they hear the telephone conversation between the expatriate employee and his family back home explaining why he was not able to send money that month. It is humiliating to the core. While not condoning any acts of delay, I am righteously worried and angered at the companies that take total advantage of the workers who are hired in these contracting companies that bid for cleaning contracts. These firms pay the workers a salary that is nothing. It is generally an average of SR400 a month, which is an amount that is spent in a day by an average Saudi. Companies that sign such deals in any parts of the Kingdom know very well what they are getting themselves into. They should have a well-laid out plans on the budget, number of employees, their role and the type of services they need to offer. My belief is that no cleaning company does such detailed planning, and that's why it is these contracting firms that are in the public glare. My only worry is that such sinful neglect is getting to be a serious issue, and my question is are these companies' actions justified? Are there no checks and balances? For a check on these firms would not affect the family's balance. I am staying on these particular cleaning workers' cases, because not only are they the victims of the employers' greed here, but they are also the casualty of their and their countries' greed in earning forex. Many countries do not act to safeguard the employees' rights and send them on these slave wages. What would a worker do with a salary of SR400 in Saudi Arabia? How could he live and what is he sending back home? These are pertinent questions that need answers. The result of such poorly paid or delayed salaries is the growing incidents of social problems. Majority of the underpaid or nonpaid workers are seen begging at traffic lights. I believe that they deserve the money more than the other beggars on the road. At least we know that they are suffering because of us and because we are not paying them enough or we are not paying them on time. In addition, I have heard from friends and colleagues, that majority of them eke out a living doing other side jobs. Why should such a situation prevail, especially when some of these private companies are making profit? Yet they continue to be sadistic by delaying their employees' salaries while at the same time expecting them to work hard with no complaint and producing more. In America and Europe, serious action would be taken against the company when there is a default or delay in salaries. Also an employee has the right to file a lawsuit against the company. With the world already offering precedents on actions against such erring firms, one of the actions that the Kingdom can adopt against such companies is to force them to compile and transfer four months wages to an independent government body. This body will then have the responsibility of transferring the money to employees on due date. If the company does not keep a four-month deposit, the body should close down the company. This will teach the violating firm a lesson. Another way is to fine these companies 50 percent of each salary delayed and that amount could be transferred to charity work. Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said “Give the laborer his wage before his perspiration be dry”. This emphasizes the seriousness of paying people on time. This valuable saying should be on a big billboard behind each manager's desk to remind him that people's lives are not toys to be played with.
I am now adding to my wish list the day I hope to see when no expatriate or Saudi employee rushing to newspapers complaining about non-payment or delayed payment from greedy companies. — The writer can be contacted at [email protected]
