drenched street sweeper on Dhahran Street in Al-Khobar, was not among his more fortunate compatriots who celebrated the Bangladesh 37th National Day last week. He knows about the event, but to him there was more important task to do that day. Dhahran Street is a long stretch. He has to sweep and clean that road before sunset. “My day starts at five in the morning, and I'm on the street until six in the evening. I only have three hours break – from 11 to 2 – for my lunch and little rest. I have no time to celebrate the National Day,” he said. Maramel is one of the many Bengali street cleaners seen in streets and alleys. Though they are the lowest paid workers in the Kingdom with salary as low as SR250 a month, they appear to have no grievances and complaints. Their one-piece orange uniform, broom and cardboard symbolize their hardship and how strong their spirit in tackling their job. Maramel came to the Kingdom seven years ago. He paid 1,20,000 taka (about $750) to the travel agency who processed his visa and signed a contract for a monthly salary of SR350. With no family to support, being unmarried, he does not send money home on a regular basis. “I spend SR200 on food and on phone bills - talking to my mother back home,” he says. He saves SR100 a month. His vacation is once every four years, but he had not been home for the last seven years since he arrived in the Kingdom. He said not taking his vacation is his own choice, although his company will pay his air ticket. With so many complaints about worker exploitation and little or no compliance of the labor laws by contracting companies, Maramel said he has no complaints or grievances against his employers. “I am actually happy. My company is good. I am able, if I can, send money to my mother.” Could he earn what he is earning here back in Bangladesh? Maramel said he can, but added, he is bidding for the appropriate time when to go back home. Bangladesh overseas workers earned an all time high record of $6.57 billion remittance during the year 2007. The annual remittance has supported and buoyed up the economy of Bangladesh, home to the poorest of the poor, according to the United Nations. Dr. Muqtedar Khan, assistant professor of political science at Adrian College in Michigan, wrote in his syndicated column on global affairs, GlobalEye, that “Bangladesh is representative of the contemporary postmodern condition where nothing is clear-cut. It is at once both highly developed as well as underdeveloped. Bangladesh is a country that is economically backward and politically quite advanced. It is a reasonably free society while being one of the world's poorest economies.” Bangladesh is also the home country of Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Prize winner for introducing the micro-finance concept of lending, which proved to be a powerful instrument for poverty reduction, building of assets, and increasing incomes. Thousands of Bangladeshi women, the target of the credit program, benefited from Yunus lending concept. The impact of Yunus credit program nevertheless has had little impact on the lives of the Bangladeshi people. When asked about the recent announcement by the Bangladeshi ambassador that the salary for workers will be raised from SR400 to SR550, Maramel was not actually that happy. “That would be good,” he smiled. “I will be able to save more and hopefully build a house for my mother,” he said. Other Bangla workers are not receptive to the Bangladeshi ambassador announcement. “It is good if my employer will comply; there has been no increase in my salary for the last five years,” said Ismail, who gets SR600 monthly pay for doing odd housework for a family living in a compound. The Saudi labor law specifies a six-day work a week, with a maximum of eight working hours daily. Employees who work in excess of 48 hours a week must be compensated for the extra period they worked. But for Maramel, respite from work every hour of the day, overtime wages, days off, and vacation pays are welcome if they come. “I do not have that idea of complaining. Doing my daily chores, making Dhahran Street clean at the end of the day is my concern. My day is done after this task,” he said. __
