Riyadh: Saudi Binladin Group, which has laid off tens of thousands of employees because of financial difficulties, said on Thursday it has begun paying delayed wages to its remaining staff. "We managed to finalise the payment for about 10,000 employees," Yaseen Alattas, the firm'
Riyadh: Saudi Binladin Group, which has laid off tens of thousands of employees because of financial difficulties, said on Thursday it has begun paying delayed wages to its remaining staff.
"We managed to finalise the payment for about 10,000 employees," Yaseen Alattas, the firm's chief communications officer, told AFP.
He added that the measure was made in coordination with Saudi Arabia's labour ministry, and "we will do the same for the remaining batches" of workers when cash is flowing "from our clients", which means the government.
Sources in March told AFP that delayed receipts from the government, whose oil revenues have dropped significantly over the past two years, have left employees of the kingdom's construction giants struggling while they wait for salaries.
Saudi Binladin Group was also suspended by the government from new public contracts after a deadly crane accident in Mecca last September.
Staff at another Saudi construction giant, Saudi Oger Ltd, have also complained of unpaid wages.
Alattas said the government has made a commitment to pay the contractors, "including us".
