Binladin workers block Jeddah road in protest

Saudi authorities dispersed a crowd of Saudi Binladin Group workers who recently blocked a main road in Jeddah’s Al-Hamdaniya area to protest delayed wages, the local Okaz newspaper reported.

The kingdom’s biggest contractor has started paying some of the overdue salaries two days ago, according to sources close to the matter.

The news comes after Binladin slashed 77,000 expatriate jobs and planned to lay off 12,000 of its 17,000 Saudi employees. The company earlier described the job cuts as a routine measure amid a slowdown in the country’s construction sector.

The Saudi government began delaying payments to contractors last year in an effort to shrink a budget deficit brought on by an ongoing oil slump.