16 face ‘lesson to others' deportation MAKKAH: Work resumed on the Holy Sites Train project Wednesday after around 100 Chinese workers rioted at their residence in protest at pay and conditions. Abdul Mohsen Al-Maiman, the spokesman for Makkah Police, told Okaz/Saudi Gazette that 18 workers had been detained in the authorities' response to the incident early Tuesday morning. “It was caused by the company's intention to send the workers home before the end of the actual date of the 18-month contract's termination,” Al-Maiman said. “They are only four months into the contract.” Other sources maintained that the employees were aggrieved at “low pay, inadequate accommodation, and working conditions in which they are exposed to the hot climate every day”. Tuesday's incident resulted in damage to four vehicles belonging to the Chinese company employing workers for the train project, and police have taken receipt of a written pledge that the incident will not be repeated. Al-Watan Arabic daily, meanwhile, reported Thursday that 16 Chinese employees involved in the disturbances had been dismissed by their employer and that procedures for their deportation would commence once their involvement has been established beyond doubt. The newspaper quoted spokesman Al-Maiman as saying that the 16 were being held on charges of “inciting the cessation of work” to demand higher pay and damage to vehicles. The 16 non-Muslims are being held at police stations in Al-Tan'eem and Al-Jumoum beyond the boundaries of Makkah, where they will remain until procedures have been completed, Al-Maiman told Al-Watan. “Once investigations have proved them guilty of smashing the windows of four cars and turning two others over, they will be deported as a lesson to others,” Al-Maiman told Al-Watan. “These sorts of acts are totally unacceptable.” He added that the aggrieved workers should have made their pay increase demands known to their employer “through regulatory channels”.
