Saudi Gazette

JEDDAH — An expatriate woman along with her newborn baby was stranded in the Kingdom as result of a dispute with her employer.

Tintu Stephen, a 28-year-old nurse from India, was arrested at Abha airport based on a complaint of her employer as she was traveling back home for childbirth. She was freed on bail thanks to a social worker and gave birth to a baby girl at the Abha Maternity Hospital where she was taken by her well-wishers.

The major obstacle that prevented her from traveling back home after the delivery was a runaway (huroub) report filed by the employer against her.

Following the catastrophic turn of events, she approached the governorate to seek justice and to remove the runaway report against her. The mother along with her newborn is now waiting for a court verdict to facilitate her return home.

As she remained as absconder in the Passport Department’s records, it is not possible for her to apply for a birth certificate for her baby, which is required to obtain her a passport.

The troubles of Stephen, a native of Kottayam in the southern Indian state of Kerala, began when she sought maternity leave to go home in the early stages of her pregnancy. Her employer, a polyclinic in Abha where she worked as a staff nurse delayed her request citing one and other reason, according to Stephen.

She came to the Kingdom on Feb. 7, 2017 on a three-year contract. She said her recruitment agent had assured her that though her contract was for a three-year period, yet she could avail of annual vacations. She traveled home after one year to get married.

After spending a month in India, Stephen returned to work on May 19, 2018. When she discovered that she was pregnant, she applied for maternity leave so that she could deliver her baby back home.

“The management first told me that I will be allowed leave after an inspection of the polyclinic by the Ministry of Health officials. Later they said she had to wait further until newly recruited nurses arrive from Sudan and so on,” Stephen said.

“Then the employer put conditions that included bringing them an accredited nurse and a security deposit of SR30,000 in case she failed to return to the Kingdom. This was in addition to holding back SR10,000 in her salary dues,” explained Ashraf Kuttichal, an Indian community worker who negotiated with Stephen’s employer on behalf of the Indian Consulate General in Jeddah.

Refusing to accept the employer’s terms, Kuttichal approached the authorities and secured Stephen an exit visa through the deportation center. He dropped Stephen at the Abha airport to board her flight.

However, the employer spotted Stephen at the airport and called the police to arrest her. She was taken to a police station.

“I got her released on bail after I came to know that she was arrested. Later her employer falsely implicated me in the case and I too was arrested by the police,” Kuttichal recalled.

After her release from police custody, Stephen delivered a baby girl at the Abha Maternity Hospital.

The case is now before the labor court. Stephen and her baby can travel home only after the court issues a verdict in her favor.