As a columnist, I am privileged to receive a variety of opinions and ideas through letters and e-mails. Often from them, I gauge the pulse of society and use them as a basis for my column. This week a contribution from Dr. Abdul Momen, formerly professor of economics and management and now president of Women & Children International (WCI) Inc., a Boston-based humanitarian organization, caught my attention. He writes:
“Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, is a thriving city and has a large expat community. Some 6 million expatriates from all over the world have flocked to Saudi Arabia, either to improve their financial situation or to enhance their spiritual life. In many cases, however, neither is happening.
In one area of the city, one notices a crowd of young men from morning to night along the road, sometimes in temperatures of 45C. They are workers from Bangladesh who are not working. Their accommodation is inadequate nor do they have decent food, water or a proper bathroom. They are the victims of circumstances. They were brought to Saudi Arabia by a large cleaning and maintenance company which employs over 2,750 workers, mostly Bangladeshi. Three Bangladeshi agencies recruited these workers and according to company sources, the agencies created the problems. The workers were sent earlier than expected. The company got a big government contract to supply laborers for 400 mosques in Riyadh and 70 in Taif. For the contract, there were 1,500 laborers’ visas. Since many imams of the mosques do not want new laborers and because of the slow allocation of funds, the problem resulted. The workers now have no accommodation, food, water or work. Many of them said they had been without work since they arrived from 2 to 7 months ago. None of them has received any wage except for SR100 upon arrival. Many of them would prefer to be arrested as jail may provide them with food, water and shelter or deport them ‘free of charge’.
When I called the Bangladesh Embassy in Riyadh, they were unable to give me any information about their nationals. We looked at the workers’ contracts. The contracts state that the worker will be employed for 3 years at SR350 per month. However, the company will deduct all government fees levied on expatriates which itself is illegal under Saudi law. I understand that private companies are not allowed to deduct money for iqama or exit visas.
In the case of the Philippines, Sri Lanka, India, Korea or other Far East nations, their nationals normally do not face these terrible situations since they are better educated and their embassies more responsive to the needs of their nationals. For example, when the Labor Ministry reaffirmed that no private company can shift the expenses or charge their expatriate iqama fees or exit/re-entry fees, the above embassies immediately, on behalf of their nationals, filed court cases for refund. In contrast, the Bangladesh Embassy has not filed a single case for refund. Rather they discourage anyone from approaching them on the grounds of limited funds. Moreover, the Embassy does not think it is their responsibility unless the Bangladesh Manpower and Labor Ministry directs them accordingly. Unfortunately, the Labor & Manpower Ministry in Bangladesh does not know about this policy and cannot direct them. Expressing sympathy for the Bangladeshi workers, a senior Saudi official stated that the major cause of their ‘poor treatment’ is their own people and their government. He said, their manpower recruiters are ‘too greedy’ and thus exploit their countrymen. It is the responsibility of the Embassy to see that their countrymen are not exploited. If the Embassy monitored the manpower recruitment agencies, these problems would not occur, he added. He pointed out that most Saudi Manpower Agencies that deal with Bangladesh are owned, managed and run by Bangladeshis. Generally a Saudi national is only their sponsor and he gets a certain fixed amount; he has no idea how much is being charged or how the workers are being treated. The Bangladesh Embassy may solicit local help when needed, he said. If it asks for help, the Saudi law enforcement agencies will respond promptly. He was clear that the embassy has to ask for help or report the matter. Ambassador Mahbub Alam and outgoing Labor Counselor Mostafizur Rahman agreed that whenever they report any problem to the Saudi authorities, prompt action is taken.
There are nearly 900,000 Bangladeshi laborers working in the Kingdom. Many companies treat their employees with honor and respect; they pay their wages, allow them their vacation time and free ticket to go home according to the contract.
Some Bangladeshi manpower companies, fail to honor their contracts. A few write two contracts - one more lucrative at the time of recruitment in the home country and another less favorable at the time of arrival in the Kingdom. The laborers are mostly illiterate and they are afraid to go to the Labor Court. As many Bangladeshi laborers are not paid on time - or at all - they resort to cleaning people’s cars. Otherwise they would be penniless. In some cases, they have to deposit a part of such earnings with their supervisors. Otherwise, they are not allowed to do these jobs. Many laborers reported that the Saudi police are generally sympathetic. They do not bother the workers neither do they take money from the workers. Sometimes, however, they arrest the workers, fine them and imprison them. When they are arrested, their sponsor has to get them released and some sponsors do not like to bother - which means the worker stays in jail. Their embassy affords them no help in such cases.
We understand that each laborer paid the equivalent of SR9,300 to recruiting agencies in Bangladesh. The local company, we are told, collected SR3,000 to SR4,500 from the Bangladeshi recruiting agencies for each visa. If this is true, then already nearly SR6 million has been made from the 1,500 visas. If a worker asks the company to send him home, they are glad to do so as they can easily sell the same work permit to make easy money. No one knows how many times these visas and work permits have been sold. For early departures, the company forces the worker to pay all the expenses which range between SR900 to SR2,300. Each year it is said that over $400 million is siphoned out of Bangladesh by manpower agencies.
Bangladeshi laborers are mostly uneducated, poor and unable to help themselves. Before their departure for Saudi Arabia, they are not given any training or orientation on their rights, privileges, or about existing Saudi and Bangladeshi labor laws and regulations. Therefore, they are ‘modern day slaves’, completely at the mercy of scrupulous recruiters. Currently nearly 2.5 million Bangladeshis are living abroad and nearly 900,000 are in Saudi Arabia. Their annual remittances are nearly $2 billion and nearly 48 percent of this comes from Saudi Arabia. Most of the expatriates have jobs abroad through manpower agencies and the respectable ones deserve credit.”
Thank you Dr. Momen for allowing us a glimpse into the darker side of guest workers mechanics that we often take for granted.
Tariq A. Al-Maeena
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