RIYADH: Hundreds of Pakistani workers from construction sector would fly home from Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) this week but without the salaries they have waited for months to receive, embassy officials said.
A total of 405 Pakistanis owed wages by once-mighty Saudi Oger will fly home from tomorrow (Wednesday) courtesy of the Saudi government, said Abdul Shakoor Shaikh, Pakistani embassy’s community welfare attache.
They were among more than 6,500 Pakistanis who have not been paid by the construction giant for that past eight or nine months, he said.
The large contingents of Filipinos and Indians have also gone months without pay from Saudi Oger, which is led by Lebanon’s billionaire former premier, Saad Hariri, while more than 30,000 Saudi Oger workers are affected, he added.
The employees of Oger and other construction companies, which are dependent on state contracts, have suffered because of delayed receipts from a Saudi government whose oil revenues have collapsed over the past two years.
At least 275 Pakistanis have already flown home under an aid plan announced last month by King Salman, Shaikh said.
The 100-million-riyal ($27 million) fund helped stranded workers with food, medical needs, a trip home, and exit visas or if they want transfer to another employer in Saudi Arabia, he added.
He said the Saudi Labour Ministry has facilitated a lot in caring for the workers and has also helped to file court claims against Saudi Oger.
The embassy is authorised to receive the back wages for most of the workers and when it arrives will forward the money to those who return home, officials said.
“But the problem persists. We cannot say that Saudi Oger has started paying the salaries,” Shaikh said.
The exit visas for more than 2,000 of the Pakistanis have been completed, and the rest must decide whether to also go home, he added.
A relatively small number, more than 70, have transferred to other companies in Saudi Arabia but other sectors do not pay as much as construction, he informed.
Shaikh was confident that the workers would eventually receive their delayed wages. “The judicial system is good compared to other countries,” he said. Saudi Binladin Group, another construction titan, in May, began paying delayed wages to its remaining staff after lying off tens of thousands of employees.
