Expats Salary Delays in Saudi Arabia due to Expired Iqama

The construction sector of Saudi Arabia where approximately 3.5 million expatriate workers work and most of them based from Asian countries and now living in very bad conditions at some of the labor camps of Saudi Arabia.

The largest employer of foreign labors in Saudi Arabia is the Construction Sector. Workers in the construction sector are now struck as the employers are not paying them their salaries , even for months and for most of the laborers , their iqamas expired months ago.

Expat Salary Delays in Saudi Arabia

Life is difficult in Saudi Arabia as the labors are not able to get their salaries monthly. Its even getting difficult for them to get food as they can be arrested any time because their iqama expired long ago even though it was not their mistake , they are becoming the violators.

Some companies are blaming their clients as their bills are not being paid and others are blaming the current slowdown in the market where the construction sector is jammed, maximum business firms are following the cost cutting measures.

One of the labor , who is an expat, told that he is not even able to give a missed call to anyone including his family as he doesn’t have credit in his phone. When they are sick , they are not able to consult a doctor and go to a hospital cause their health insurance expired long ago.

Most of them have not received their salaries for months and few of them for almost a year. Because of the lack of financial assistance and legal permit to go , some of them are not able to return to their home country.

Some of them are awaiting for the news of their salaries and the end of service benefits. Most people went to their foreign missions for collecting their dues and transferring them to their accounts in their home country but they didn’t receive any answer since months.

According to report of local news – The Saudi Gazette , in one case two wrecked workers died while they were returning home.

The delay in the salary is not limited to just the construction sector but it also has its effect on  companies like IT, Health, Telecom  and Mechanical Engineering.