TAIF: Around 120 employees at a large security firm in Taif downed tools Tuesday in protest at their employer's refusal to pay two months' additional salary and other job-related allowances. The company's failure to follow the model of many other private firms in matching the recent Royal Orders for a one-off double-salary payment in the public sector has led to a complete halt to its operations, leaving some 200 bank ATM machines empty of cash. The staff said they would not relent until their demands are met. “We've been making the demands for years and nothing has been done,” one of the employees said. “First and foremost we want poor salaries to be put right and danger money for staff that transport cash. We are also asking for an allowance to match the rising cost of living, the payment of two months' additional salary and a change in the pay scale so that a minimum wage of SR3,000 is introduced, matching the decision by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.” The staff also complain of late salary payments and want medical insurance to be incorporated into one package with family insurance. A source at the security company would only say that the issue had been referred to head office, while an official from one of the banks affected by the halt to the firm's operations said that most of its cash dispensers were currently empty. “It's causing us a lot of problems, and we have been in touch with the company to try and resolve the situation quickly,” he said, noting that the final week of the month was peak time in demand for ATM cash.
