As we are getting closer to going home, I decide to go to see the boss about her deducting our salaries for our flights home in August and back in September. The employer is supposed to pay all flights but Hanan wanted a guarantee that we would return so said she would be deducting them from our August salary. She also said she would not be paying us the final two weeks of our salary as they fell into the following months salary. (fair enough, even though I don't agree with the flight deductions but nothing we could do about it.)
I sat in my room that night still feeling a little confused (doesn't take much) about the deductions and didn't think it was fair she was doing this so I sent Hanan an email asking if she could take the £550 from the final two weeks salary that we wouldn't be getting till our return and not the salary we would get on August 1st....not that I needed it as I have been saving like a trouper but my thoughts were if I don't come back in September I would sooner be £700 down and not £1250. She sent a blunt email back saying she wanted a meeting with us all to clarify this.
In the meantime, Lore is not further forward. The Embassy said they can't help her with the salary, only thing they could do was to send Hanan a letter asking her to release Lore's passport. So at this moment in time Lore is still not allowed to work and still has not been given her salary, passport or exit visa. Mysti posted on her facebook wall about a Saudi Princess who had just been arrested for literally enslaving a Kenyan woman http://www.africanglobe.net/africa/saudi-royal-princess-charged-enslaving-kenyan-woman/ worth a read if you have time.....but it highlights that these type of things are still happening.....the passports, the pay.
So two days later we go for our meeting with Hanan and as always I end up sitting the closest to her!!! Anyway, I start by asking her to explain to us why the deductions come out of the August salary and not the final two weeks pay....I am not going to go into everything that was said in the meeting but what I can tell you is that about five minutes in I hear her say "I need you to tell me if you are not coming back so I don't waste time and money sorting your iqama" My mouth opens and out pops "I'm not coming back" then for a split second the room goes quiet. She replies, well I think she does but I a cannot hear anything as I am still in shock at what has just come out of my mouth. So again the conversation goes on and by this time her voice has raised a few decibels and she is now somewhere in between talking and shouting about god knows what as my ears are still not working correctly since I last opened my mouth and then I hear again something about not coming back and once again my mouth opens and I say "I'm not coming back"...."Ok" she says, "tell me what date you want to work to either 25th July (salary cut of date) or 8th August" which is the planned finished date before we fly home. I tell her I will put it in writing....Then she launches into a verbal attack on Valentina as she mentions feeling unsettled about the Lore situation. "Well!!!" Hanan is now registering on the richter scale as she starts to shake and shout even louder. "I'm glad you brought that up, let's get it all out in the open". She then proceeds to shout the Loretta story......after about 10 minutes it becomes a little calmer and we recap over what has been said......the only thing I can hear is my head telling me "I think you have just resigned"!!!
So this is where things are at the moment:
I sat in my room that night still feeling a little confused (doesn't take much) about the deductions and didn't think it was fair she was doing this so I sent Hanan an email asking if she could take the £550 from the final two weeks salary that we wouldn't be getting till our return and not the salary we would get on August 1st....not that I needed it as I have been saving like a trouper but my thoughts were if I don't come back in September I would sooner be £700 down and not £1250. She sent a blunt email back saying she wanted a meeting with us all to clarify this.
In the meantime, Lore is not further forward. The Embassy said they can't help her with the salary, only thing they could do was to send Hanan a letter asking her to release Lore's passport. So at this moment in time Lore is still not allowed to work and still has not been given her salary, passport or exit visa. Mysti posted on her facebook wall about a Saudi Princess who had just been arrested for literally enslaving a Kenyan woman http://www.africanglobe.net/africa/saudi-royal-princess-charged-enslaving-kenyan-woman/ worth a read if you have time.....but it highlights that these type of things are still happening.....the passports, the pay.
So two days later we go for our meeting with Hanan and as always I end up sitting the closest to her!!! Anyway, I start by asking her to explain to us why the deductions come out of the August salary and not the final two weeks pay....I am not going to go into everything that was said in the meeting but what I can tell you is that about five minutes in I hear her say "I need you to tell me if you are not coming back so I don't waste time and money sorting your iqama" My mouth opens and out pops "I'm not coming back" then for a split second the room goes quiet. She replies, well I think she does but I a cannot hear anything as I am still in shock at what has just come out of my mouth. So again the conversation goes on and by this time her voice has raised a few decibels and she is now somewhere in between talking and shouting about god knows what as my ears are still not working correctly since I last opened my mouth and then I hear again something about not coming back and once again my mouth opens and I say "I'm not coming back"...."Ok" she says, "tell me what date you want to work to either 25th July (salary cut of date) or 8th August" which is the planned finished date before we fly home. I tell her I will put it in writing....Then she launches into a verbal attack on Valentina as she mentions feeling unsettled about the Lore situation. "Well!!!" Hanan is now registering on the richter scale as she starts to shake and shout even louder. "I'm glad you brought that up, let's get it all out in the open". She then proceeds to shout the Loretta story......after about 10 minutes it becomes a little calmer and we recap over what has been said......the only thing I can hear is my head telling me "I think you have just resigned"!!!
So this is where things are at the moment:
- I am not coming back
- We are being deducted on 1st Aug for 2 flights home and back
- Our 12 months contract has suddenly turned into 13 as she informs us that the holiday month doesn't count!!
- Iqama's are being started for those who are returning in September
- Lore is being ignored and still not being paid
I am being paid up to the 7th August and I am also getting some holiday pro-rata based on the months I have worked here. This also applies to Kedi, Val and May Ann
My contract is being left open. Hanan wants me to come back and has asked that I think it over during my holiday and let her know if I change my mind. She also said that even if I change my mind three month's down the line she will still have me back.....I am very flattered by this. Lore is going to get paid for July, even though she has not worked it (not Lore's choice as Hanan banned her from the spa) and she is also getting paid for the August holiday....I think Lore's threats of going to the Labour Office to report Hanan have finally paid off or maybe this woman has decided to try the nice approach now that Ramadam is here and Muslims are supposed to show kindness, forgiveness, empathy etc etc.... or maybe she has realised we are well within our rights to be paid and this is in line with the Saudi Law......All this shit is really getting us all down now and it is starting to give me a headache or is it the sandstorms and change in the weather that's been giving me the headache....It is starting to get hotter and drier. It is definitely summer in Saudi.
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