Submitted by AWL on 29 January, 2013 - 12:51
8,000 contract construction workers struck in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, on Sunday 27 January.
The workers, contracted by the Ministry of Finance and working on building projects including the King Abdullah Financial Centre in Al Aqeeq, were demanding backpay. Some workers said that they were owed wages up to five months in arrears.
Strikers held a four-hour sit-down in the Al-Aqeeq district of Riyadh. They were also angry at rumours that their contractors planned to demand the SAR2,400 ($639) “expatriate fee”, which contractors are obliged to pay for every foreign worker they employ over the number of Saudi workers, from workers’ wages.
According to Asia Business, 90% of private sector workers in Saudi Arabia are foreign nationals.
