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Paul in Saudi · Joined: 03 Mar 2003 Posts: 404 Location: Doha, Qatar

This thread is to allow us to discuss the self-distruction of DIFA without hijacking the other threads. Maybe we can even warn some people off.

DIFA O&M has the old Lockheed C-130 contract in Jeddah and Riyadh.

Good News! Today, on 11 October, only 41 days late, DIFA paid all the late pay! Both months! To all the local hires. Still no money for the expats. Still we should all rejoice for our Saudi brothers!

In other news, we still must move out of the compound by the end of the month, DIFA has not paid the rent in years. We were to move to a nice compound far, far out of town. The RSAF nixed that due to security considerations.

So now we have twenty days until we move, somewhere. Maybe. Or not.

I will resign on Saturday. That puts me out of here on or about 1 January. Darn shame, it is a great place to work. Except for the whole DIFA thing.

Paul in Saudi · Joined: 03 Mar 2003 Posts: 404 Location: Doha, Qatar

(Did I post this twice?)

The deed is done. I sent in my notice today. I also wanted to post the record these folks have had of paying us.

1 March pay came on 12 March
1 April pay came on 27 April
1 May pay came on 1 June
1 June pay came on 1 June (Yea!)
1 July pay came on 3 July
1 August pay came on 6 August
1 September pay still not paid
1 October pay still not paid

In other news, we got two new Americans down on the flight line this week. Both came in on visitor's visas and both now are trying to get out of here.

Paul in Saudi · Joined: 03 Mar 2003 Posts: 404 Location: Doha, Qatar

Well, I submitted my paperwork on Wednesday. Given my vacation time, I expect to be home for Christmas.

It seems that we have hired a handful of new Americans. All of them came in on Visitor visas. THey cannot legally work. In fact, they cannot even cash a paycheck, should we ever get them.

One of the guys, a C-130 crew chief reports flying from New York to Amsterdam where the airline told he could no continue to Jeddah as (for some reason) his ticket was invalid. He had to wait five days until the company fixed it. At his own expense of course.

Paul in Saudi · Joined: 03 Mar 2003 Posts: 404 Location: Doha, Qatar

The Compound Coordinator came around last night. The water company will no longer accept DIFA's promise to pay. He asked us for SR20 each.

The fun continues.

Paul in Saudi · Joined: 03 Mar 2003 Posts: 404 Location: Doha, Qatar

1 September paid on 23 October
1 October paid on 23 October

No health care in what? Seven months or so.

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

So, your salary is up to date?

at least for a week?

VS

Paul in Saudi · Joined: 03 Mar 2003 Posts: 404 Location: Doha, Qatar

Oh yeah, except for the pay cut they did a year ago. (Well a TRAVEL pay cut, so they claim it doesn't really count.) Still we are up to date for now.

(How else can I spread the word about these people?)

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

I guess here is about the most widely read EFL board... This should at least be able to warn off your replacement...

VS

Paul in Saudi · Joined: 03 Mar 2003 Posts: 404 Location: Doha, Qatar

The 1 November pay is late.

The married people have decided to move elsewhere at their own expense. (They were paying $500 a month to ensure they had no roommate, so now they are paying $750 to live downtown. They have given up on this compound.)

The store is closed,as is the restaurant. They turned off our cable TV today also. Despite all this, there is still no word on when we will move off this compound.

Paul in Saudi · Joined: 03 Mar 2003 Posts: 404 Location: Doha, Qatar

Today is 17 November. Still no pay. No talk of pay. No health care; no hope of that either.

The compound has declared we must leave by the end of the month. No word of that either. They have now drained to pool and taken down the tennis court nets too.

I was scheduled to have a last day of word of 28 December. Now I have to stay until 1 January, they 'miscalculated my leave balance.' I wonder if they will pay me my end-of-service bonus.

Please keep this situation in your memory banks so you can warn others off from signing up with these people.

Paul in Saudi · Joined: 03 Mar 2003 Posts: 404 Location: Doha, Qatar

On 23 November, they gave us the 1 November paychecks. No excitement, no explanation, this is just how DIFA is. I am out of here in five weeks.

Also this afternoon, this Wednesday afternoon, they gave us a memorandum telling us we are moving from this compound to a new one. On Saturday.

It gets even better. DIFA has still not paid the new compound. They will not let us move in there. They have not paid the old compound. We must be out of here by 1 December.

So on Saturday we will load all our stuff, sans clothes for a week. Our stuff will be moved to the new compound where it will unloaded into our still unseen apartments. We will stay here until the new compound has seen the checks clear. Then we will move to the new place.

I swear, you could not make this up in fiction!

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

I have this vision of you standing in the middle of one of those cavernous ME flats... just you with a toothbrush in your hand...

As you said... only 5 more weeks... Shocked

VS

Paul in Saudi · Joined: 03 Mar 2003 Posts: 404 Location: Doha, Qatar

If you do not hear from me for a while not to worry. The Old Compound will turn off our lights, phone and water in a few days, at the end of the month. All the maintenance will also go away then.

We will move into our new compound once a few details are taken care of. DIFA has to pay a mover to move us. And get approval of the move from the RSAF, the regional governor, the police, the fire department and the intelligence service. Then of course we have to actually move.

No problem in doing this all in two days.

In other news, another company has told me they would love to hire me, but cannot as DIFA will do nothing at all to get me a LONO.

These folks have ruined my life.

Paul in Saudi · Joined: 03 Mar 2003 Posts: 404 Location: Doha, Qatar

17 December, the December pay came in. Kill the fatted calf!

In other news, we have moved into the new compound. We have salt water in the pipes. Salt water showers, salt water in the laundry (cold water only, about four washers) salt water in to toilets.

I have withdrawn my resignation. The Colonel begged me to stay. It seems DIFA might have lost the contract. Things might get better.

Never Ceased To Be Amazed · Posted: Wed Dec 28, 2005 5:06 pm Post subject: What's in the meaning of DIFA

Sorry, folks! I know things are hard on ya. Every time I visit this thread, I start to snicker. Having been a long-time military-like subcontractor employee in the Magical Kingdom for many years, I was puzzled about this DIFA thing that a buddy of mine was working for in Jeddah. So, I asked him, "What does DIFA stand for?"
To which he responded, "D__ed, I'm F___ed Again!" It left me howling and with even more respect for him as he had obviously acquired that sense of humour that gets you through hard times with a company that can't quite step up to the mark. God Bless, you guys.

NCTBA