Job Discussion Forums

[desertmonkey]

First of all thanks for all the replies, personal messages, emails, excellent suggestions and personal experiences. I've found everyone extremely helpful, inspirational and a source of optimism and strength. I'm meeting up with a fellow poster on this forum this evening. I've had messages of support from the UK who will publicise my case there.

I will try to reply to some of the comments and suggestions that have been made:

I will wait as long as it takes in order to get my rights from the school. I'm in no rush to go anywhere, I guess an excellent opportunity to brush up on my Arabic and become a guide on where to eat in Jeddah and the delights of Jeddah Corniche, etc. Anyway the School has my passport.

Everyone I have spoken to who have had experience with Labour court, friends, Arab News, Lawyer, my translator, have said the school have no leg to stand on. They are very certain that I will get every penny that I'm owed.

I went to meet a lawyer he quoted me 5000, to speak to the school and 10,000 to take it to the labour court. Far more than I'm willing to pay. However he was very confident about the strength of my case and disgust of the way I have been treated. And this is the thing everyone I speak to weather Saudi or non Saudi acknowledges how bad the school was to me. In actual fact the very person who recruited me said �I have never seen any one treated as bad as you in the 27 years I�ve worked at the school�

Thankfully in Britain the Citizens Advice Bureau, Union or such advocacy would usually represent you for free. I am utterly dismayed with the services the British Consulate offer, as I firmly believe Britain is one of the fairest and finest countries in the world when it comes to the rights of employees. I was told at the labour court that I should contact my consulate for a translator as the Pakistani, Indian and in fact all of the consulates provide a translator for the labour office. After a 20 minute conversation I was told no they don�t and the labour office is incorrect. Once this is all over and have obtained my money and rights from the "school" I intend to start a website to help people in my situation guiding them through the whole labour court process in simple English. So if anyone knows a lawyer who help me out or will charge a lot less than please post it here or email me.

Just a quick summary of what's happened as some posters seem to slightly confused:

1) Arrived in Jeddah Sept 2006
2) Told in February 2007 to shift to Riyadh as an Indian National Teacher would be replacing me. I was told why pay a Brit 8400 when we can pay an Indian National only 2600.
3) Told not to report back at the Jeddah school
4) Said I will go to Riyadh, but reimburse me for my medical expenses, provide medical cards and provide/ make arrangments for my accommodation for me and family to come to Riyadh
5) Have been visiting, calling, writing, mailing, faxing the administration in Jeddah and Riyadh for the last 3 months.
6) They fail to reply and make arrangements for me in Riyadh.
7) They have stopped my salary for the last 3 months.

So that's my situation the whole shebang has strengthened me and I'm happy with myself that I have held them account for their oppression and wrongdoing.

I feel terribly sorry for all those poor souls from developing countries who sometimes have to pay $1000�s of dollars to come out here and then their employers refuse to pay them for months on end. While they slave away at some back breaking work in the sweltering heat. Now that�s a plight.

Does anyone know a contact at the BBC Middle East, does any one on this forum think they would be interested in covering my story? If you have there details than please contact me.

[Stephen Jones]

The British Consulate does not provide a translator. It limits itself to recommending a list of lawyers in cases where you have a labour or civil dispute. This is standard behaviour everywhere in the world.

The legal fees you have been quoted seem on the high end. I would shop around.

As I said, we can't comment on your situation as we do not know the exact circumstances, nor what your employer is claiming.

Have you been going to work for the last three months?

[sheikh radlinrol]

I'm sorry Desert Monkey but I suspect there's another side to this story. What might your employer gain from hanging on to your passport? Please let us know what their gripe is.

[Stephen Jones]

Back in Manarat Riyadh in the mid-nineties a couple of teachers went off to a party at one of the compounds. Well lubricated they staggered out of the compound to get a taxi home, but when this friendly Saudi stopped they got in his car instead.

They then regaled him in return for the lift with stories about how good the party was and how much booze they'd drunk. Unfortunatelty the Saudi was an off-duty cop and decided to increase his promotion prospects by turning them in at his place of work, where they were breathalyzed and locked away.After about three days and various angry calls from the British Consulate to the School somebody from Manarat turned up to bail them out. They were required to sign a paper saying they would be good little boys in the future, and the police matter ended there.

However management at Manarat decided they didn't want them any more.
When the guys were told they said, "Fair enough; we didn't like it much here anyway. Give us our passport and toodleydoo!" However things weren't that simple. No, they had indulged in unislamic conduct and according to the terms of the contract would have to pay the employer two month salary in compensation. Only problem was they didn't have it. "Ah, well in that case we can't fire you then" was the reply.

For the next six weeks the guys turned up to school and stood outside the school gates smoking for seven hours. Then, just before the half term holiday, another science teacher did a runner (he was the one for whose defection Manarat management wanted to claim six months salary off the Indian librarian I mentioned earlier), and they suddenly found they couldn't cover the GCSE classes so they offered the physics teacher his job back. He refused to take it unless they also took back his mate, the English teacher, and paid them both the back salary for the six weeks they'd spent smoking outside the gates. As they had the school by the short and curlers they got their way.

The best came about four months later when contract renewal time came round. Both applied for renewal and as things had calmed down they were accepted. And then two weeks before the semester the shit hit the fan when the head of the foundation that runs Manarat was supposed to sign the contracts. He was under the impression that the two had been put on a plane back in November and was not very pleased to find out his orders had been ignored and he had been kept in the dark. End of renewal of contract.

I wouldn't be surprised if some high-up had ordered desertmonkey's transfer to Riyadh, and nobody has dared tell him he's not there.

[scot47]

What makes you think that the UK Consulate will provide an interpreter ? You seem to have a strange idea of the role of Her Britannic Majesty's Ambassador to the Kingdom !

If you and your wife gave up jobs in the UK with a joint salary in excess of 60,000 sterling to take a job in Jeddah paying 8,000 riyals a month I would suggest that your behaviour is not rational

[desertmonkey]

For all those messaging for me an update, I had another labour court meeting last week and the person representing the school deliberately failed to bring his power of authority of letter, that he can represent the school. Hence the hearing was adjourned for another two weeks. This is the second time he's done this.

[desertmonkey]

The final installment ....

I wanted to share this with everybody nearly two years after it happened as positive action. I just keep hearing and reading of more and more people being mistreated by this school. As soon as I arrived at the school I was told by other teachers that the teacher who was doing the job before me, left back for Britain after two months.

We arrived in Jeddah Saudi Arabia September 2006 to teach Computer Studies at Manarat International School.

In February I was told I would need to transfer to Riyadh as this was in my contract and that they were short of teachers in Riyadh! I explained to the school I would consider going to Riyadh but they would need to first:

1. To arrange accommodation for me in Riyadh.
2. Reimburse my Iqama fees of 750 riyals
3. Reimburse my Family Iqmah fees of 2000 riyals
4. Reimburse my family medical expenses
5. Provide medical cards for my family (wife and daughter)

I was told by the head of the administration for the Jeddah Region that I could sleep in the street