JEDDAH: Minister for Overseas Pakistanis, Pir Syed Sadaruddin Shah Rashidi, has praised Saudi Arabia for the steps it has taken to address the issues of retrenched workers.
The visiting minister urged the Pakistani workers to try for transfer of sponsorship in the Kingdom while pursuing their salary and other dues from their previous companies.
Addressing a press conference here after meeting the sacked workers on Thursday, he insisted that they stay back and fight for their dues, “although they have the option of returning home.” Rashidi appeared under pressure in the face of piling woes of the workers who were sacked by private companies in the Kingdom.
“To calm down the frustration among the affected countrymen, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has sent me to address the problem and assure all help to the expatriates,” he said
He reiterated the three options: “Stay back and try to retrieve your compensation from the company; get the contract transferred to another firm; and exit the country and assign someone to follow your case with the company.”
Rashidi said he had a detailed meeting with Saudi Labor Minister Mufrej Al-Haqabani in Riyadh a day earlier and discussed the issue of the stranded Pakistani workers. He visited camps in Riyadh, Dammam and Jeddah. Pakistan Ambassador Manzoor ul Haq also joined the minister for the meetings.
Abdullah Al-Olayan, director general of the Ministry of Labor and Social Development branch in Makkah, along with several other Saudi officials accompanied the minister in Jeddah camps, where some 500 people are living.
Rashidi also attended a meeting with Health Minister Tawfiq Al-Rabiah, who has directed the hospitals to ensure medical care to those living in the camps, according to the minister.
“The Saudi government is putting in its best efforts to reduce the grievances,” he said, adding that it has promised to make the process easy for the workers seeking to transfer their contracts to other companies, if they wish to stay back, or arrangements are there if they want to go back home.
The minister was accompanied by Ambassador Haq, Consul General Shahryar Akbar Khan and Overseas Pakistan Foundation officials at the meeting, which was also attended by several media persons.
Rashidi said he did not want the workers to go back to Pakistan and suggested that they keep trying to get their dues and transfer their sponsorship to other companies.
He said there is no contingency plan or back-up plan for the overseas workers. “We are a developing country and the huge workforce abroad has many people with white collar jobs. It is not that easy to accommodate these high-paid salaried class people back home,” he said.
Asked when the situation would be back to normal, the minister said it will take time as it is a gradual process. “The crisis is unprecedented and has erupted all of a sudden.”
The major problems, according to the minister, are food and medical care. “Steps have been taken in this regard, but much is still to be done,” said Rashidi, advising the countrymen to keep patience and let the government to address the situation.
“Our prime minister (Sharif) has announced Rs 50,000 to the family of each affected worker and about 4,000 families in Pakistan have already been given that amount,” he said.
Assuring all help to the expatriates, he said: “You are all Pakistan’s ambassadors here and we have every reason to take care of you.”
Meanwhile, India’s Minister of State for External Affairs Gen. V.K. Singh visited labor camps in Jeddah and Taif and assured the retrenched Indian workers of full help from the government.
“Our government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj, is committed to serving every Indian,” he said.
Pak minister assures all help to compatriots
Pak minister assures all help to compatriots
