An Asian manager of a national factory here has been accused of depriving 15 Saudi workers of their cost of living allowance without giving any reason. The manager, it was further alleged, congratulated 230 expatriate workers for getting the allowance at a recent meeting in the factory. The wronged Saudi workers also accused the non-Muslim official of creating hurdles in their offering prayers. The Saudi workers now have lodged a complaint against the manager at the Office of the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Labor, Assistant Undersecretary for Saudization and Jeddah's Labor Office. The Saudi workers said that an inspector from the Labor Office in Jeddah visited the factory to investigate the allegations. But since nothing concrete came out of his inspection, the workers approached the Assistant Director of the Labor Office. Surprisingly, the workers said, their complaint was untraceable. As soon as the management found out that they had approached the Labor Office, the workers said, it started creating more troubles for them. “A senior and influential employee in the company who came on an electrician's visa and is working as a personnel manger is directly responsible for employing a large number of his compatriots in the company,” the Saudi workers alleged. The official, they said, has ordered the mosque locked up immediately after prayers claiming that the employees spend too much time in the mosque affecting the productivity of the factory.” Qusai Al-Felali, Director of the Labor Office in Jeddah, acknowledged the receipt of the complaint and said it is being looked into. “If investigations prove the existence of a problem, we will try to solve it amicably. Otherwise we will refer the complaint to the preliminary committee,” he said. The Labor Office, he said, has nothing to do with the increments since it all depends on the policies of the company.
