A company under contract with the Jeddah Islamic Port failed to pay Ramadan salaries to its more than 180 employees. The inordinate delay in payment of salaries resulted in the suspension of work in most of the port's sectors, especially security and firefighting, Al-Madina Arabic daily said. The employees alleged that even after filing a complaint with the port's management to force the company to pay their wages on time, no action was taken. They said the company has the habit of delaying salaries and has become notorious in this regard. Sa'eed Al-Qarni, a protesting employee at the port's gate, said the company has a considerable record of violations regarding labor laws: It does not provide health insurance, has increased working hours without paying overtime, and has cut the annual vacation to 15 days instead of 21 days which is the minimum period guaranteed under labor laws. Ziyad Al-Bahkali, Talal Al-Jidani and Hani Al-Shareef, and other staff members complained that they were not paid their salaries even when Eid was approaching. They said the company's manager at the port put the blame on a delay from the bank. “This is not true as we have a letter from the bank indicating that the company's account was empty,” they said. Sahir Al-Tahlawi, Jeddah Islamic Port manager, said the company will be forced to pay the salaries within the next two days after discussing the issue with its director. He said the issue did not affect the work at the port. __
