469 Nepali workers working in the project of Saudi Aram, a petroleum production and processing company of Saudi Arabia, have not received about 146 million rupees (4 million 4 thousand riyals) as salary. They were working on the project of Saudi Aramco through Sendan International Company (visa sponsor). The Embassy of Nepal in Riyadh has requested the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development of Saudi Arabia to provide it through the 'Salary Insurance Service for Migrant Workers'.

The Ministry of Human Resources of Saudi Arabia has issued a procedure for payment of salary from the "Salary Insurance Service of Immigrant Workers" to workers who have not been paid continuously for 6 months or if the company goes bankrupt. In the procedure, there is a provision to pay up to 17 thousand 500 riyals (about 6 lakh 21 thousand rupees) and 1000 riyals for return home tickets for non-payment of salary up to 6 months prior to the employer's dismissal. Based on that, the embassy has claimed the arrears of the Nepalese workers from the Saudi government. 

Kaviraj Upreti, the Labor Counselor of the Nepali Embassy, ​​said that he is optimistic about getting the remaining salary of the workers from the insurance. We are in regular discussions with the Saudi crisis department to get the remaining salary of the workers. "We are positive that the salary will be available from the workers' insurance," Upreti told Kantipur. Nepali workers stopped getting regular salary from August last year. They have stopped working since last March and have been living in a camp provided by a company in the eastern region of Saudi Arabia since they were not paid and could not return home. 

According to Balram Rai of Sankhuwasabha, salary arrears vary according to the workplace (site). We were working at different sites of Aramco. Here the month of getting salary is also different according to the site. No one has received it since 10 months ago. Most of them don't get salary for up to 8 months," he said. "When, how and when the salary will be received or not, I don't know." Only Rai has yet to receive 12,800 riyals (454,000 rupees) apart from overtime and gratuity. He said that they have given a lump sum complaint to the labor office for the salary. 

He said that it is sad that he does not get the reward of his hard work day and night in hot summer. "Now we have been sleeping in the company's camp for two months. We worked 12 hours a day. We sweated in the hot sun of the bay," he said. "We worked with our lives in our hands. We should get the fruits of our sweat.' 

Karna Bahadur Khatri of Rolpa said that he worked at the gas plant for 23 months. There was scaffolding work at the gas plant. There was a strong smell of gas while working at a site called KGV. It gave me a headache. There was no smell while working in the new plant," he said. "The salary was regular for 14 months after I started working. After that, it was delayed for three to four months. An old friend used to say that he would give it at once. That's why I continued to work even though I didn't get paid. But, when the site was closed, it became known that the company was completely bankrupt.'