�Riyadh/Jeddah � Tension prevails in travel agencies because of an incident involving a number of Kanoo Travel employees in Riyadh. The employees were arrested by the authorities because the company had allegedly failed to meet the government�s Saudization deadline.
Arab News has learned that the arrested staff who were taken in and had their heads shaved were released on Tuesday. Many other travel agencies remain closed in fear of possible action by the government. Some travel agencies, however, reopened with a mixture of Saudi and expatriate staff.
The employees arrested in Kanoo Travel were from India, Pakistan, Sudan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. �I was caught off guard when the officials raided the office and took me away,� said one employee after spending 48 hours in jail. Describing his experience, he said: �I had to pay SR5 to have my head shaved completely and another SR10 for an official photograph.�
Speaking to Arab News, a Saudi lawyer said he could not believe that such a thing had happened. �Why should the authorities penalize the employees when the dispute was between the employer and the government?�
The lawyer pointed out that shaving the head should not have been done unless they had violated certain religious rules.
(K.S. Ramkumar & Mohammed Rasooldeen�)
Please click on www.arabnews.com (Kingdom Section) to read the whole article.
Moi-mogan, Domnic Fernandes Anjuna/Dhahran, KSA
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