THE tens of thousands of street cleaners who help the Kingdom to keep its cities clean — there are 6,000 of them in the capital alone — can often be seen begging for money near traffic lights, major restaurants and even malls. Broom in hand, the men casually approach people, greet them in a polite manner and bank on their sense of sympathy. Al-Riyadh daily explores why street cleaners have to turn to panhandling to carve out a living and a solution to put an end to this negative practice, which distracts street cleaners from their jobs. Citizen Abdulrahman Al-Haqbani said street cleaners suffer constantly because the companies that employ them rarely pay their already meager wages on time. "I've met several street cleaners and asked why they beg. They said their employer makes them work nearly 10 hour shifts and for a monthly salary of SR350. Most of the time, the company delays paying these wages for three months at a time. Some of them collect empty plastic and aluminum cans from the garbage and sell them to factories for recycling," he said. There have been instances where street cleaners organized strikes to protest their wage delays but begging seems to be preferable as it puts money in their pockets immediately. "It seems that their employers know the street cleaners beg and keep silent about it because they do not want to pay them their monthly wages. Who is responsible for the street cleaners and who will give them back their wages? Is it the employer or the municipal offices or the anti-begging officers who are not doing their jobs properly?" Al-Haqbani added. Who is responsible? Citizen Muhammad Al-Khelaifi also said street cleaners resort to begging because their employers do not pay them on time every month. He asked several street cleaners why they beg on the street and the answer was always the same: because the disbursement of their monthly wages is delayed for months at a time. "They are forced to beg in order to make a living and get by and send little money to their families back home. The other day I read a news report about an expatriate worker who dressed like a street cleaner and went around begging for money and got caught by the authorities," he said. According to Abdullah Al-Hissan, the supervisors abuse their positions and take advantage of the street cleaners. They encourage street cleaners to beg for money and share whatever they earn every day with them. If a street cleaner refuses to beg, he will be threatened by the supervisor and his job will be at risk, Al-Hissan said. As a solution Zayed Al-Talhi, a high school principal, suggested that the monthly wages of street cleaners should be increased. This is the only solution, according to Al-Talhi, that will make them focus more on their job and keep the streets clean. Salih Al-Harbi disagreed and said it is wrong to sympathize with any beggar and urged the general public to donate their money to charities and foundations.
