Dr. Ali Al-Ghamdi
The headline of this article is from a Tradition of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). It means that all employers are required to pay their workers their wages immediately after finishing their work. The implication of this Saying of the Prophet (pbuh) is that it is not permissible for any employer to delay the wages of his workers on one pretext or another. It is quite unjust on the part of the employer to have the designated work done at a fixed place and time by the worker and then delay the payment of the wages agreed upon earlier. It is also not permissible for the employer to ask for extra work after ending the fixed period of time without any increase in the fixed wages.
A recent report published on the front page of Saudi Gazette prompted me to give this brief introduction about the concept of wages for work in Islam. In the story, titled “No salaries, no valid Iqamas, workers stuck in Yanbu,” the reporter Fatima Muhammad deals with the desperate situation of a number of Asian workers in the industrial city of Yanbu. The workers lodged a petition with the labor office for not being paid their salaries for more than a year. The sponsor has not even renewed the iqamas (residence permits) of many of these workers. The labor office told these workers that their case will be forwarded to the higher court. But it will take at least three weeks because of procedural issues, the workers were reportedly told.
It is an issue that evokes mixed feelings of surprise, bewilderment and outrage. How have these workers spent a full year without receiving even a part of their salaries? How was it possible for the employer to engage them in construction work for such a long period of time without giving them even a small amount of money? Doesn’t he have a conscience that tells him that this is wrong and is he not a believer in God?
There is no doubt that this is an injustice. There is no barrier between Allah and the prayer of the oppressed. This is what the Prophet (pbuh) has said: “Beware of the supplication of the oppressed, even if he is an unbeliever, for there is no barrier between it and Allah.” It is obvious that this is in violation of labor regulations and hence the violators have to face penal action, including imprisonment.
Coming back to the workers; how could they work for a full year without receiving their salaries? Why didn’t they halt work when they found that their salaries were being delayed for two or three months? At that point, they should have approached the labor office or police or court to lodge their complaint and demand fair treatment with regard to the payment of their salaries. How was it possible for the employer to convince them to work for such a long period of time without making any payment? Either the fear of God or the penalties for Labor Law violations was supposed to have deterred the employer from denying the rights of these workers, but this never happened.
For this, the labor office or Minister of Labor and Social Development has to give a direct and specific answer. Labor offices are supposed to have the power to make quick interventions to solve issues, such as the delay in the payment of salaries at the end of every month. In the event of any workers complaining about the nonpayment of salaries, labor offices are required to summon employers and seek explanations for committing such violations. These offices should give the employers two or three days to disburse salaries. In the event of the failure to provide a convincing explanation and to take specific action, all the services to such employers should be halted and stringent punitive measures should be taken against them.
The complaint about the nonpayment of salaries lodged by workers cannot be treated like any other complaint. In the event of such complaints, the authorities need to ask the concerned employers whether they have paid the salary or not. Action should be taken on the basis of this answer. The authorities should not entertain any excuses or justifications for the delay in the disbursement of salaries.
Expatriates who work in this country face various types of difficulties, such as problems in the workplace and low salaries as well as a feeling of alienation and mental stress because of living apart from their families. In addition, they face the troublesome problem of the delay in the disbursement of their meager salaries. This cannot be justified in a country like Saudi Arabia where the governing system is based on the Islamic Shariah.
Here, the important question is why the labor office did not swing into action either to resolve this issue or raise it to a higher labor court. Why did the employer refused to renew the iqamas of his workers? Those who are responsible for such violations of labor regulations should face fines or jail terms.
Finally, my question to the Minister of Labor and Social Development is: How can any individual sponsor or company be allowed to operate without ensuring the necessary guarantees and commitments as per the Labor Law while engaged in hiring foreign workers or entering into agreements and taking part in bids to implement major projects?
— Dr. Ali Al-Ghamdi is a former Saudi diplomat who specializes in Southeast Asian affairs. He can be reached at algham@hotmail.com
