Saudis deport Chinese workers for protesting on lower than promised wages

[Naveed Yaseen]

BEIJING: Many Chinese working abroad send money back to their families. Twenty-three Chinese workers have been deported by the Saudi authorities after going on strike in a protest over low pay, Chinese officials say, BBC reported on its website on Saturday.

The construction workers, from Sichuan province, were promised relatively high wages but received less than two-thirds of that amount, Chinese media said.

They were arrested earlier this week after a protest by about 200 workers. Strikes are illegal in Saudi Arabia. Chinese construction workers are employed throughout the Middle East. Correspondents say they are renowned for their discipline and willingness to accept low wages.

The China Daily newspaper quoted an official at the Chinese embassy in Riyadh as saying the 23 workers were safe and would be sent home on Thursday evening. The official said Saudi authorities were preventing the media from reporting the incident because of fears of damaging relations with Beijing.

The Chinese newspaper Chengdu Business Daily said the workers went on strike after being promised wages of 6,000 yuan ($879) a month but receiving less than 4,000 yuan. The arrests came to light after several of the workers sent text messages home.

“They [the workers] held talks with representatives of the construction site, but failed,” one message read. “With guns, some people, supposed to be Saudi police, took 23 Chinese workers away. We kept calling them but couldn’t get through.”

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=157680