Refleksi: Berapa banyak di antara TKI/TkW yang bekerja di tanah suci mengalami nasib seperti para buruh Pakistan ini?
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=118782&d=2&m=2&y=2009&pix=kingdom.jpg&category=Kingdom Monday 2 February 2009 (06 Safar 1430) Broke and squatting in factory, workers wait for labor justice Hassna'a Mokhtar | Arab News IN DISTRESS: Pakistani workers speaking about their problems at the Arab News office. From right: Waris Hussain, Muhammad Aslam, Abdul Aziz Shakir and Khaled Parwez. (AN photo) JEDDAH: In debt with no money, no family and no help, four Pakistani mechanics continue to live penniless in a defunct factory in south Jeddah awaiting a miracle to happen. "Solve our problems please," begged Muhammad Aslam in his broken English, weeping. "We're waiting for a miracle. We want our six years of wages, end of service benefits, tickets to Pakistan and finances for medical treatment." Muhammad Aslam, Waris Hussain, Abdul Aziz Shakir and Khaled Parwez worked in the Saudi Textile Company - located in Jeddah's Gholail district. Their problem started when the factory's original owner died around 11 years ago and the ownership was handed to his son, Walid Ezzi, who currently lives in the Eastern Province. "There is nothing to be done to solve the workers' problem," said Ezzi in a phone conversation with Arab News last week. "Why are you writing about this again?" The answer is simple: Since Arab News last spoke to Ezzi ("Closed factory leaves five Pakistanis at dead end," published on May 18, 2008), the situation of the workers has barely changed, a situation that has lingered since before the workers filed their complaints of nonpayment to labor authorities nearly four years ago. "For the past five years, we haven't received our money," wrote the men in a letter to the Labor Office last year. "We're old people and we can no longer support our families in Pakistan. There's great tension and worry. Our children were kicked out of school. Our daughters can't get married because they need money. We just want you to do your best to give us our financial rights so we can go back home." In December 2006 the Preliminary Commission for Settlement of Labor Disputes in Makkah province issued a decision in favor of the employees. However, until today the workers have not received their rights, as the owner does not have the money to pay. Ezzi says that the company is in heavy debt and that he doesn't have the money to pay the labor claims. He also said that the Saudi Industrial Development Fund is going to auction the factory within 60 days, but he mentioned that the SR19,883,336 factory debt scares people interested in buying it. Ezzi said he and his sister send a monthly SR200 to support the workers. The mechanics confirmed that they have been receiving the money over the last year, but those payments stopped in the past couple of months. In October 2008, the workers said that Ezzi visited the company and told them to take care of the factory. In the conversation last week, Ezzi was clearly irritated at being asked about the issue. "The Saudi Industrial Development Fund will handle selling the factory," he said. "They also asked for documents that state the workers' unpaid salaries to include their financial rights among the list of debts." Ibrahim Al-Mowash, office manager of the director general at the Saudi Industrial Development Fund, could not disclose information about the status of the factory due to client confidentiality policies. However, the procedures the fund applies in similar situations he said is that when the factory owner is late in paying his debts the factory is sold. "A committee is formed and the factory is seized. Advertisements are placed in newspapers to announce that the factory is for sale. Interested buyers visit the factory and offer their prices," explained Al-Mowash. Why does the Saudi Textile Company remain unsold? Al-Mowash said he could not share the reasons with the public. The four Pakistanis said that many representatives from the fund have visited the factory several times during the past year. "They told us that within a month things would get resolved. Their last visit was in November 2008. We never heard from them again," said one of the workers. Aysha, 25-year-old daughter of Waris Hussain in Pakistan, contacted several organizations in Saudi Arabia when her father's problem started to worsen. She has sent e-mails to the National Society for Human Rights, Ministry of Labor, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Makkah provincial government, Human Rights Watch, the Pakistani Consulate in Jeddah and others. "Some responded, but nothing significant was done," said Aysha in her e-mail to Arab News. "My family and I are in so much pain and so desperate. At this old age with his health problems, my father is there alone fighting for justice. Back in the days, he had the choice of either going to Saudi Arabia, America or Britain. If he had chosen a different country, we wouldn't be suffering the way we are today." Aysha ended her e-mail with a plea to the Saudi government. She wants justice for her father and other employees. "I want my father to receive his money as soon as possible and come back to Pakistan. I demand punishment for employers who do this [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
