More than 7,000 construction workers from Bangladesh, Pakistan, India and the Philippines went on strike at the end of January in Riyadh for non-payment of salaries by their sponsors, according to local newspaper Arab News.
The workers, employed by a number of private companies, have been subcontracted by the Ministry of Finance to build various parts of King Abdullah Financial district in Al-Aqeeq, the newspaper said.
A senior official from the Bangladesh Embassy in Riyadh told Arab News that the mission received a complaint and would send a team to the site to investigate the problem.
The workers are building the King Abdullah Financial district in Al-Aqeeq (Credit: Haitham Alfalah)
The strikers, whose sheer numbers blocked a main road, were asked by Saudi security authorities to submit their grievances in writing to their sponsors.
Arab News reported that the Pakistan Embassy was going to send a team to initiate dialogue between the sponsors and the employees for a peaceful settlement.
Workers’ grievances also include their sponsors’ refusal to pay a SR2,400 ($640) to the Saudi Labor Department, said Arab News.
