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Construction in Riyadh whats that like??

Heini

Hi All

Can someone tell me what it is like working in the construction industry in Saudi??

Is it like the UAE?  Hows health and safety, or are they cowboys?

Is there anything i should watch out for when finalising my contract or specifically ask for?

Hows the working hours in general?

What is it like working for a local company in Saudi?

Any help will be great.

Cheers
H

See also
Alliecat

What I've observed regarding safety is that it's non-existent (but that's not to say it is in every case).

My one piece of advice I have for you is to be VERY careful to have your working hours spelled out in writing, with absolutely no wriggle room (none of this crap about working extra hours as necessary).  The thing with construction here is that it always seems to fall behind schedule and so they begin working 24/7 (I'm thinking of PNU here).

gashead

KSA is way behind UAE in all aspects of the industry. Health and Safety is almost non existent. My hours are Sat - Weds 0800-1730 but most others work a 6 day week. Are you with a contractor or consultant? Biggest problem here is sorting out annual leave and whether and how weekends apply. Also the pros and cons of iqama v business visa.

If you need advice on wages I'd need to know your qualifications and position.

Heini

Thank you mam!

I will tie them down, i am very careful, i got taken for a major ride in Dubai, all promises and when i came here it was a diffrent story all together, so now i am double careful.

One more question if i may, what is the rule regarding one's passport, do you keep your passport or does the employer keep it?

Regards
H

Alliecat wrote:

What I've observed regarding safety is that it's non-existent (but that's not to say it is in every case).

My one piece of advice I have for you is to be VERY careful to have your working hours spelled out in writing, with absolutely no wriggle room (none of this crap about working extra hours as necessary).  The thing with construction here is that it always seems to fall behind schedule and so they begin working 24/7 (I'm thinking of PNU here).

Alliecat

Heini wrote:

Thank you mam!

I will tie them down, i am very careful, i got taken for a major ride in Dubai, all promises and when i came here it was a diffrent story all together, so now i am double careful.

One more question if i may, what is the rule regarding one's passport, do you keep your passport or does the employer keep it?

Regards
H


Generally the employer keeps it.  Supposedly there is no law that says you have to turn it over but most employers insist on it.  However, that may be dependent on your visa, too--I'm not sure.  I have an iqama which I have to turn in to HR for my passport when I'm going to travel.

saimans

Heini wrote:

One more question if i may, what is the rule regarding one's passport, do you keep your passport or does the employer keep it?


If you say rule, then you are supposed to keep your passport with you. :)

As usual no one follows the rule here and is very subjective, so most of the employers do keep your passport against IQAMA !! Reason for this is, once you are in the magic kingdon, you are the responsibility of your sponsor and in order to keep a control on you he keeps the passport. This is valid for most of the companies and not for all ....

TheLegendLeads

Though it's funny. To me, it looks like a give-and-take tit-for-tat :)

Employer: We have given you such a valuable card (Iqama), return us the favor; what about your passport?
Employee: You have taken my most valueable asset (passport), come on give me something back (Iqama).

In both cases, the trust goes to hell :lol:

saimans wrote:
Heini wrote:

One more question if i may, what is the rule regarding one's passport, do you keep your passport or does the employer keep it?


If you say rule, then you are supposed to keep your passport with you. :)

As usual no one follows the rule here and is very subjective, so most of the employers do keep your passport against IQAMA !! Reason for this is, once you are in the magic kingdon, you are the responsibility of your sponsor and in order to keep a control on you he keeps the passport. This is valid for most of the companies and not for all ....

gashead

Passports. I keep my passport because I am on a business visa but if I had an iqama the company would keep the passport until I needed it and then swap it for my iqama when I travelled abroad.