Saudi labor minister says Binladin crisis to be resolved

The crisis facing Saudi Binladin Group, which has been struggling to pay its workers, will be resolved, Saudi Arabia’s labor minister Mufrej Al Haqbani was quoted by Reuters as saying.

Speaking during a business conference in Riyadh, Al Haqbani said some workers who had been laid off by the contractor will receive compensation this month, adding that others would be paid in following months.

Thousands of workers had not been paid in months, according to media reports, which led some employees to protest.

On Monday, al-Watan newspaper reported that Binladin had laid off about 77,000 foreign workers and also planned to cut thousands of jobs held by Saudi nationals. The company said that workers would receive proper compensation, but did not elaborate.

When asked whether the government might intervene to protect the jobs of Saudis, Haqbani replied that a wage protection system safeguarded employees' salaries and that foreign workers would receive their salaries even if they left the country.