CYPRUS: Foreign Ministry intervenes to bring home stranded J&P staff

Following the closure of J&P Overseas and its subsidiaries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is reaching out to around 200 unemployed Cypriot workers stuck in Saudi Arabia, with a diplomat flying to Riyadh on Monday.

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Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nikos Christodoulides, has instructed his Acting Permanent Secretary, Ambassador Marios Ieronymides to conduct face-to-face meetings with the Cypriot workers in Saudi Arabia.

It is understood that the Ministry has been following the developments and has been in constant communication with the government authorities which are involved.

Last week, the Minister had instructed the Ambassador to Riyad to locate all Cypriot workers of the company and make arrangements for their repatriation to Cyprus.

The company used to employ around 6,000 people in Saudi Arabia, of whom around 200 are Cypriots.

The Cypriot employees said that they hadn’t been paid for five months and some could not afford to buy air tickets to return to the island – so the government has stepped in.

Also stranded in Saudi Arabia, along with their Cypriot J&P Overseas colleagues, are believed to be some 5,000 nationals from Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Nepal and Egypt.

In letters sent to the media in recent weeks, workers have claimed to be living in camps like prisoners as their work permits have expired and they are unable to move freely in the country.

J&P Overseas was shut down with the company accumulating damages of around USD 750 mln.

The problems at J&P Overseas emerged earlier this year and culminated last month with the company going into liquidation, after banks rejected its restructuring proposal.

The liquidation process saw all J&P Overseas subsidiaries as well as all active projects being frozen and put under the hammer with liquidators Alvarez & Marsal looking for buyers.

The company has subsidiaries in Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, and Qatar, but also has a direct presence in other countries such as Libya, Egypt and Jordan.