DAMMAM — The reconciliation circuit in the Labor Court in Dammam has helped a company to reach a settlement with 250 Saudi employees, including 95 women, who were not paid their monthly salaries, vacation allowances and end-of-service emoluments, Al-Watan newspaper reported on Monday. The court ruled that the company, which was not named, should pay its employees, who are all Saudis, an amount of SR8.2 million in settlement of their unpaid salaries. The employees had filed complaints at the labor offices in Dammam and Al-Khobar demanding that the company pay them their delayed salaries ranging from SR3,000 to SR10,000, in addition to vacation allowances and their end-of-service emoluments. The court subpoenaed the employer, who reached an amicable settlement with the employees under which the company will pay the delayed salaries by issuing executable receipts. Minister of Justice Walid Al-Samaani, in circular, had directed all departments of the ministry to consider the reconciliation minutes documented by the departments of cordial reconciliation an executable receipts, which should be immediately paid. The labor courts, which have been established about two months ago in nine cities, will impose fines against companies and establishments that delay the payment of employees' salaries. The fines will be double the amount that should be paid to the employees. These amounts will be deposited in the Human Resources Development Fund (Hadaf) to support the employment of more Saudis in the private sectors. The ministry expects the threat of fines to greatly reduce the instances of employers delaying payments of salaries to their employees. The ministry, on the other hand, revealed that the preliminary courts in the Kingdom have considered as many as 52,949 public rights cases in the past six months. It said Riyadh, which had 13,293 cases registered, has topped all other regions in the number of the lawsuits concerning public rights. Badr Al-Shatri, a lawyer, explained that the public right is the right of the state, which will be presented in court by the Public Prosecution.
