Abandoned In Saudi Desert Camps, Migrant Workers Won't Leave Without Pay
By Marwa Rashad and Katie Paul | QADISIYA LABOUR CAMP, SAUDI ARABIA
Migrant construction workers, abandoned in their thousands by Saudi employers in filthy desert camps during the kingdom's economic slump, say they will not accept a government offer of free flights home unless they receive months of unpaid wages.
The plight of the workers, stranded for months in crowded dormitories at labor camps with little money and limited access to food, water or medical care, has alarmed their home countries and drawn unwelcome attention to the conditions of some of the 10 million foreign workers on whom the Saudi economy depends.
The government says it is trying to resolve the situation by giving the workers -- who normally need their employers' permission to leave the country -- the right to go home and free transport back. It is also granting them special permission to stay while they look for other jobs.
But workers say they fear that if they leave they will end up with nothing at all.
"We will wait here - one year, two years. We will wait for our money. Then we will go back," said Sardar Naseer, 35, a Pakistani welder at the Qadisiya Labour Camp, which houses around 2,000 workers from construction conglomerate Saudi Oger.
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http://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-labour-foreign-idUSKCN10T1M3
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