Three-month grace period: 890 Pakistani workers may not benefit from new Saudi rules

Workers hired by Turkish company cannot work or leave the kingdom.

ISLAMABAD:

Although Islamabad has lauded Saudi Arabia’s new labour policy, which allows a grace period of three months for foreign labourers in order to correct their labour status, it appears that some 1,470 South Asians  – including 160 Indians and 890 Pakistanis — hired by a Turkish company in the Kingdom may not benefit from the new rules.

Their case is pending before the labour ministry and the Pakistani workers cannot correct their status without a final decision by the relevant departments of the Kingdom, a number of Pakistani labourers told The Express Tribune.  

Turkish company, MAAPA Construction and Trade, had hired these South Asian workers through different travel and recruiting agencies during 2011.

However, once the labourers reached the kingdom, they were informed that the company did not have enough work for them. As it turned out, the visas issued to these workers were illegal, and as the fraud came to light, a case was registered at Emara (Governor House) in Riyadh and the labourers’ passports were confiscated by the local police. The case is currently being processed.

Instead of helping the stranded Pakistani workers, the Turkish company blamed their manager for issuing fake visas for jobs that never existed. The manager and his Saudi counterparts are now facing charges.

Talking to The Express Tribune about their ordeal, the workers revealed that they arrived in Saudi Arabia at the end of 2011 and since then have not been allowed to work or travel outside the Kingdom.

When this fraud was first exposed by The Express Tribune, President Asif Ali Zardari took notice of the matter and sought a report from Pakistan’s ambassador, Naeem Khan, in Saudi Arabia.

Khan reportedly started taking an interest in the matter and he told workers that the case has been settled by a labour court in their favour.

However, a number of workers revealed that when they tried to transfer their iqamas (work/residence permit) to other companies they were denied and some of them were also not allowed to leave the Kingdom.

“We cannot exit or shift our iqamas to any other company and they have been cancelled by the Turkish company,” they added.

An official in the Presidency blamed Pakistan embassy officials for not sending the correct report to the president, adding that the issue was almost settled and the media was just creating hype.

Presidential spokesperson Farhatullah Babar told The Express Tribune that “they (Pakistani officials) are trying to resolve this issue.”

Last week, Saudi Arabia announced a new labour policy which provides three months to workers to adjust their resident/labor status in accordance with the new labour laws of the Kingdom.

Earlier this week, in a letter to the Saudi King Abdullah, President Asif Ali Zardari, expressed his deep appreciation for the “generous and kind” gesture of announcing a grace period.

In his letter, President Zardari expressed hope that King Abdullah would show further flexibility towards the Pakistani community, which he said was positively contributing to the Saudi economy.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 14^th, 2013.