38 stranded Nepali workers in Saudi Arabia to get new jobs

Published On: August 29, 2018 10:57 AM NPT By: Republica | @RepublicaNepal

Employment Services, Tinjure Employment sign agreement to find the new jobs for the workers

KHOTANG, Aug 29: Tinjure Employment Services Pvt Ltd and Empower Overseas Pvt Ltd have agreed to provide new jobs to 38 Nepali workers who were kicked out of their jobs in Saudi Arabia.

Thirteen of these workers are from Khotang district.

Tinjure Employment Services and Empower Overseas Pvt Ltd sent these workers to Saudi Arabia. The Saudi company -- San Mar Al Mamalkha Contracting and Trading Supply Company -- had kicked them out of the work after they skipped their office for a day to express their dissatisfaction over the company's failure to provide them the promised salary.

The two companies and the 38 workers have signed an eight-point agreement in the presence of a representative of the Department of Foreign Employment in which the companies have promised to find new jobs for workers in Saudi Arabia. As per the agreement, the 38 workers will be hired by a cleaning company and that the workers will get a salary of 1,000 riyals and food allowance of 200 riyals per month. They will have to work eight hours per day for 26 days a month.

Likewise, the companies have agreed to arrange workers medical ID card and life insurance cover as well as provide temporary ID cards till permanent ID card is issued to all workers.

"The two Nepali companies will be held responsible if the 38 workers do not get facilities as included in the agreement," said Bunadevi Bishwakarma, assistant advisor at an information center of Safer Migration Project (SaMi) in Diktel. “We are in touch with the workers,” she said, adding: “Although we have managed to sign an agreement with the manpower companies, workers have been demanding that agreement is signed in the presence of officials of Nepali embassy.

Workers have said that they won't work for the new company until an agreement is signed in the presence of Nepali embassy officials.

Tinjure Employment Services Pvt Ltd and Empower Overseas Pvt Ltd had Rs 125,000 to Rs 150,000 per person from workers, promising them to provide a job for a catering company in Saudi Arabia. They were promised monthly pay of 1,300 to 1,400 riyals. However, their contract document with the Saudi company states that the workers are entitled to a monthly pay of 800 riyals. "We started working for the catering company. But later we were shifted to supply and later to cleaning workers," Surya Bahadur Bomjon of Mawkanpur said.

After the Saudi company rendered the workers jobless, their family members had filed complaints against the two manpower companies with the help of free legal counseling service provided by People's Forum.

According to the workers, the Nepali embassy in Riyadh did not come to help them despite repeated requests.