A group of 15 foreign workers remain stranded here after their sponsor's death more than a year ago. The workers, who include Indians, Bangladeshis, Filipinos and Egyptians, say that since their sponsor's death, they have not been paid their salaries for 9-14 months. And worse, their Iqamas (work permits) expired three months ago, which means they risk being arrested by the Passports authorities, and deported. The furniture company they work for is now being managed by their sponsor's two sons. But the business has slumped and may close down, the workers say. In most other countries, such workers would find other jobs. But in Saudi Arabia, because of the job sponsorship system for foreign workers, which effectively binds employees to the sponsor of their visa, there is no such hope. Some of the workers said they need to go home on emergency leave but cannot because their expired Iqamas need to be renewed, which would be a lengthy process sice their sponsor has died. They were left with no other option except to wait and see what their new sponsor, either from two sons would decide. One of the workers, Muhammad Irfan, a storekeeper, said they had approached the wife of their deceased sponsor for help. “But she said she was helpless as she can't decide on the business matters of her sons. However, she said she would ask her sons to settle our dues and either send us back to our countries or release us to work for other sponsors,” Irfan said. Exasperated, one of the workers, Abdullah, took the case to the labor court and got a favorable verdict. But the court verdict, passed last August, has not be implemented so far. Suicide attempts Because of the hopelessness of the situation, another employee, C.V. Shareef, a 47-year-old Indian who was hired to do upholstery work, tried to commit suicide at least twice, Irfan said. Shareef, from the southern state of Kerala, felt trapped and there were increasing demands coming from his family back home, Irfan said. Without a salary, Shareef's problems are mounting by the day, especially since the date of his eldest daughter's wedding is fixed. Hounded by telephone calls from his daughters almost daily, he is now hoping to sell some of his property back home to raise funds for the wedding. Recently, his daughters called to say that his wife too tried to kill herself by consuming insecticides. “The wedding date is fixed and his inability to go home is driving him mad,” Irfan said. One of the sponsor's sons keeps on promising that he would renew the Iqamas soon and let them go on vacation, Irfan said. But he has little hope that this would be done soon. “We are at the mercy of the two sons, who are very irresponsible and unprofessional,” he said. A study conducted by the Riyadh Economic Forum recently has recommended to the authorities that the sponsorship system is flawed and needs to be scrapped.
