As a sponsor of overseas workers over the years, I am sometimes disturbed that in the land in which Islam took root and where so much emphasis is placed on religious adherence right from childhood, there exist some Saudis who seem to have little regard for Islamic beliefs particularly when it comes to compensating their workers for their labor and paying them their dues on time.

Reports of such exploitation over the years could fill volumes, and despite being reported and publicized in much of our press, and while the Labor Ministry has tightened the rules, it is unfortunate that this malicious practice seems to show no sign of fading.

I recently learned of a situation involving some Asian workers who seem to have been stranded in this country for more than two years without their documents or any lawful means of employment.

They were employed by a clinic in Riyadh for several years under the sponsorship of the Saudi owner. The Saudi passed away and that is when their terrible ordeal began.

According to one of the workers, following the owner’s death, the management of the clinic was assumed by his son, who was far less inclined than his father to make the business a success. It was obvious to the clinic staff that the son indeed had no interest in continuing in his father’s footsteps, and it was not long before he sold the business to another Saudi.

The new owner spent a few months trying to make a go of it, but a year later he closed it down, leaving his staff high and dry and totally in the dark about their future. What added to their misery was the fact that all of their documents, such as, passports and iqamas, were being held by the sponsor.

One worker stated: “We have been unemployed for more than two years, and are unable to return to our homes because we do not have our papers. The clinic in which we worked suddenly closed down without giving us any prior notice or options for job change. Since then we have been stranded here and can neither work nor return home.”

He added: “A labor court in May last year issued a judgment in our favor and ordered the sponsor to pay us our back wages and return all our documents with immediate effect. He filed an appeal in the High Court and our case was rejected in January this year and now we are helpless. Whenever we approach our embassy, they ask us to wait.”

Their plight and pleas for help eventually reached the ears of a chief minister in their country who apparently used his political muscle to involve an NGO in Riyadh to fast forward an acceptable solution to the problem. The NGO accordingly petitioned the ambassador in Riyadh for the embassy’s intervention in breaking the deadlock and setting the groundwork for returning the workers to their country. According to a representative of the NGO, there has been some progress and “things are moving”.

Fortunately, in the case of these workers, someone has taken a stand. But what about the many others in similar situations who have no chief minister to speak up for them? Or no embassy to pursue their case?

We cannot remain in denial about the violation of the human rights of our guest workers by some unscrupulous employers. These workers have left their countries after making great sacrifices to come here to earn an honest living. Many of them have families back home whose survival depends on the wages they earn. And while most of them are compensated fairly, there are others who have been denied their dues and today live in fear, hunger and uncertainty far from their families and homes.

Wages are an earned right, not a charity. In a well-known hadith the Prophet (peace be upon him) stated: “Pay the worker his dues before his sweat has dried.” How difficult is it to understand that, and how many of us adhere to such edicts?

The author can be reached at talmaeena@aol.com. Follow him on Twitter @talmaeena

We cannot remain in denial about the violation of the human rights of our guest workers by some unscrupulous employers. These workers have left their countries after making great sacrifices to come here to earn an honest living.