Arabtec to pay wages of Filipino workers in Saudi Arabia

Dubai-listed contractor Arabtec Construction will pay the full wages of all Filipino workers employed by its joint venture Arabtec Saudi Arabia, the company’s chief executive Raja Hani Ghanma told UAE daily The National.

However, the plight of the workers in the kingdom, said to be stranded without pay after losing their jobs, has “been blown out of proportion,” Ghanma said.

Arabtec Saudi Arabia, a joint venture with Saudi Binladin Group and Mawrid Holding, had 479 Filipinos working for the company, the chief executive said. Of this figure, 222 have been sent back to their home country, while another 211 have joined other companies in the kingdom.

“That leaves you with 46 people – 36 have absconded and we have 10 remaining with final exits in their hands [who] will be leaving at the end of the month,” Ghanma explained, admitting that the joint venture had faced problems in the past with delayed wages.

“I can’t say that everybody has been paid on time, but ultimately everybody gets paid and they get whatever entitlements [owed],” he said.

Last week, Arabtec was listed as one of nine companies whose employees have been offered grants by the Philippines government’s Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, in lieu of salaries and end-of-service payments owed by their employers.

Thousands of expatriate workers employed by major construction firms in Saudi Arabia have lost their jobs or faced delays in receiving salaries in recent months.