The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Embassy of Pakistan in Riyadh are making every effort to resolve the difficulties being faced by Pakistani nationals working for M/s Saad Group of Companies in Dammam, Saudi Arabia due to non-payment of dues, Foreign Office said.
Around 8000 employees from different nationalities including Saudi nationals are affected. The number of Pakistanis is about 500, who are based at three different locations.
According to Foreign Office spokesperson, Nafees Zakaria, the Embassy of Pakistan is in touch with Pakistani employees and the management of the company.
He said that the matter has also been taken up with the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Labour and Social Development of Saudi Arabia. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also taken up this matter with the Government of Saudi Arabia through Saudi Embassy in Islamabad, he added.
He said that Pakistan Embassy representatives have paid several visits to Dammam to meet the Pakistani workers and raised the matter with the Company management.
According to him, the company management has assured the Embassy that efforts are in hand to resolve the matter. Since some workers have filed their cases in the labour court, the Company is waiting for the court's verdict, he added.
He further said that the embassy is also assisting the Pakistani workers in finalisation of their court cases and the embassy representatives along with the representatives of the workers have met with the judge of the relevant court for an early resolution of the matter.
Zakaria further said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Embassy of Pakistan in Riyadh are making relentless efforts to ensure that Pakistan nationals are paid their dues and they are able to return to Pakistan, if they so desire.
Earlier, reports claim that around 500 Pakistani workers have been forced to live in camps and due the issues facing them they also sought the intervention of the Foreign Office to bring them back home.