Over 40 security guards working for a company that has a contract with Najran University have complained that they are not receiving their salaries regularly and are being denied other rights stipulated in their contracts. The security guards accused the company of being slow in paying them their entitlements, including salaries and paid vacations. They said that they have raised these issues several times, but the contracting company has always blamed the university for late payment. “This is not the first time that the payment of our salaries has been delayed. This has been happening for more than two years without any solution.” The security guards said their jobs are their only source of income. They said some of them are married and have to provide for their families. They said they cannot survive properly on the low salaries. They also criticized Najran University for allegedly not fulfilling their verbal promises to transfer them to government jobs. They accused the university's administrative staff of threatening them and treating them disrespectfully. They said the university administration has threatened that any security guard who lodges a complaint against the university or company would be fired from his job. In addition, they said that they do not have social insurance. This is despite being appointed to their positions one-and-a-half years ago. The security guards called on the authorities concerned to look into their case and issue directives for their salaries to be paid regularly without delay and for their entitlements to be granted. A high-ranking source at Najran University said the responsibility for the payment of the security guards' salaries lies with the company that employed them. He said the university cannot be blamed and stressed that the financial transactions between the university and the company has nothing to do with the employees' salaries at all. He said that the university has written a letter to the company to ask them to regularly pay the salaries of the security guards. As for including the security guards in the social insurance system, he said each security guard has to get this from the company. He added that the university is about to pay the company its money.
