A contracting company that wound up its operations eight months ago is refusing to pay its 50 ex-employees their salaries. It has also refused to transfer the men's sponsorship or return their passports. Human rights activists are now looking into the case. “We received this case three months ago. The ministries of interior and labor required the owner to appear before them but nothing has happened ever since,” said Abdul Mohsin Al-Nahdi, according to a report in Al-Hayat Arabic daily. The 50 men are from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Philippines. However, their embassies have not responded to requests for help. The men are now facing eviction from their building due to their inability to pay rent, electricity and water bills. Al-Nahdi has promised to write to King Abdullah explaining the suffering of the workers. Al-Hayat newspaper interviewed some of the employees. “I'm diabetic and I can't afford to buy diabetic drugs and I don't even have medical insurance. My blood sugar is 400. There are four more diabetic employees,” said Abdul Sattar from Bangladesh. Abdul Sattar and other Bangladeshi employees complained to their embassy which gave them SR100 per person. Since then the men have been living on one riyal per day. Fayeq Ahmad from India said: “Our water and electricity were cut four months ago. We don't have air-conditioners and our rooms are full of mosquitoes and mice. We live in misery.” Muhammad Haroun from Bangladesh revealed that he has not been able to send one riyal back to his family in Bangladesh. “They have been suffering as well and have had many problems as a result. They keep asking me to come back home but the company holds our passports.”
