Saudi Arabia’s King Salman has ordered authorities to address “once and for all” the grievances of distressed foreign workers, especially Indians and the Filipinos, stranded in the Kingdom after not being paid for months.
The King, in a series of directives on Sunday, ordered the Minister of Labour and Social Development to take necessary measures, in coordination with the Ministry of Finance, to oblige companies who have contracts with the government to pay the salaries of their employees in accordance with the government’s Wage Protection Programme.
The King’s directives comes amid increasing complaints by workers that they have not been paid their salaries for months.
Construction giant Saudi Oger has been the subject of complaints by thousands of its workers for not paying their salaries for the past nine months. In one of his directives on Sunday, King Salman authorised the Labour Minister to also immediately address the housing and accommodation services of the distressed workers.
India and the Philippines as well as their communities in the kingdom have rallied behind their compatriots at Saudi Oger by providing them food.
Indian Minister of State for External Affairs V.K. Singh also visited Saudi Arabia to resolve the issue.
Currently, a total of 7,700 affected Indian workers are living in 20 camps in the country and the embassy is in the process of collecting information about others residing in different parts of Saudi Arabia. — PTI
