Riyadh:
A group of Indian workers in Saudi Arabia have accused a local company of not paying their salaries for six months and appealed for help so that they can come back home, media reported.
"We are 20 Indian employees stranded here at Bader H. Al-Hussaini & Sons in Jubail (in Eastern Province). The company has not given us our salaries, food, water or any means of support for the past six months," the Arab News quoted a worker as saying Monday.
Bader Al-Hussaini, the chief executive officer and owner of the company, however, told the Arab News that he owes the workers four months' salaries.
"We have just paid them one salary this morning. We will pay them two salaries this week and the fourth salary as soon as we receive a check for about 600,000 Saudi riyals (about $160,000) from an authority in Jubail for which we have done work," the chief executive officer said.
When the newspaper told him that he would be quoted in Arab News, he said: "Ignore what I have just said, everything at the company is all right. You can't publish this information."
The workers, however, have disputed Al-Hussaini's claim. When contacted again Monday afternoon, the workers said they had not received any money from the company.
"We've been at the company since this morning. Now it's the end of the day. We were not even informed that we would be paid, which means there was no intention to pay us," a worker said.
"We are helpless and cannot support ourselves and our families. We want to go back to India but they do not want to send us back. Please help us and highlight our case in the media as soon as possible," he added.
The workers also said that one of their colleagues died five months ago but the company did not send his body home.
Al-Hussaini, in response, said he had attempted to contact the man's family but had not received any response.
The workers disputed the company owner's claim saying they could provide contact details for the man's family if the chief executive officer was serious about sending the body back to India.
They said the body is being kept at King Fahd Hospital in Al-Ahsa.
Under the country's existing labour law, companies failing to pay the salaries on time are blacklisted.
"We are 20 Indian employees stranded here at Bader H. Al-Hussaini & Sons in Jubail (in Eastern Province). The company has not given us our salaries, food, water or any means of support for the past six months," the Arab News quoted a worker as saying Monday.
Bader Al-Hussaini, the chief executive officer and owner of the company, however, told the Arab News that he owes the workers four months' salaries.
"We have just paid them one salary this morning. We will pay them two salaries this week and the fourth salary as soon as we receive a check for about 600,000 Saudi riyals (about $160,000) from an authority in Jubail for which we have done work," the chief executive officer said.
When the newspaper told him that he would be quoted in Arab News, he said: "Ignore what I have just said, everything at the company is all right. You can't publish this information."
The workers, however, have disputed Al-Hussaini's claim. When contacted again Monday afternoon, the workers said they had not received any money from the company.
"We've been at the company since this morning. Now it's the end of the day. We were not even informed that we would be paid, which means there was no intention to pay us," a worker said.
"We are helpless and cannot support ourselves and our families. We want to go back to India but they do not want to send us back. Please help us and highlight our case in the media as soon as possible," he added.
The workers also said that one of their colleagues died five months ago but the company did not send his body home.
Al-Hussaini, in response, said he had attempted to contact the man's family but had not received any response.
The workers disputed the company owner's claim saying they could provide contact details for the man's family if the chief executive officer was serious about sending the body back to India.
They said the body is being kept at King Fahd Hospital in Al-Ahsa.
Under the country's existing labour law, companies failing to pay the salaries on time are blacklisted.
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