In 2015, when crisis hit the Bin Laden Group, and the employees of Empower Contracting weren’t paid for three months, they decided to go on a strike. For Zulfiqar Hussain, a 32-year-old resident of Rawalpindi, six more months went in waiting. His health insurance began to expire and savings were fast running out for him and 50 other Pakistanis. “I resigned but it wasn’t the end for me. We waited another 10 months for money and gratuity settlement and to simply get our exit from the kingdom.” According to Zulfiqar, 80 percent of those who initiated the strike were Pakistani nationals. He has spent seven years in Saudi Arabia as a mechanical supervisor and thinks Pakistani workers are the first ones to speak against any violation of rights. “Even in small companies, the smallest of problems will be called out by Pakistanis first. They are eyed as trouble-triggers often.” The shift in Saudi Arabia, from being the largest importer of Pakistani labour, to now reporting high numbers of deportations and voluntary returns, leaves Pakistan in a murky situation.
Haniya Javed, 'How the Saudi recession is hurting Pakistani labour', Dawn