RIYADH: Saudi Minister of Labour and Social Development Dr Moufarrej bin Saad al-Haqabani has said that several local firms, including Saudi Binladin Group, have now started paying overdue wages.
The group’s executives have promised that the payments would be completed by September, he said.
Minister said that Saudi Oger is the only company still broadly withholding payments, and the ministry will press foreigners' wage claims through the Kingdom's labour dispute system.
"Saudi Oger — now we'll take it to the courts. Now we are responsible for that. We've hired lawyers," he said.
"As the ministry, we will go through the labour dispute courts to go after Saudi Oger and to collect the claims."
Thousands of jobless Pakistanis, Indians, and Filipinos are stranded and destitute in the Kingdom after a plunge in oil prices sparked construction layoffs.
On July 29, the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development was briefed about 450 Pakistani workers facing financial problems in the Dammam area of Saudi Arabia.
The committee meeting at the Parliament House noted that overseas Pakistanis were facing severe financial problems as the company that hired them did not pay them salaries for the last several months.
Foreign Affairs Additional Secretary Tasawar Khan had told the committee that the Pakistan’s embassy in Riyadh was in contact with the workers. He had said that the government of Saudia Arabia had assured of clearance of Pakistani workers' dues.
Earlier it was reported that more than 1.6 million Pakistanis had proceeded to Saudi Arabia during 2011-15 for employment purposes, making the country the largest market for Pakistani workers across the world.
According to an official of the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development, overall 49.9 percent (1.6 million) workers had gone to Saudi Arabia during the stated period.
The crisis was struck by a plunge in oil prices sparking layoffs in the construction sector, leaving thousands of Asians, including Pakistanis, Indians and Filipinos, stranded and destitute in the Kingdom.