Strike at privately-run Saudi hospital after salary delays

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Employees at one of Saudi Arabia's largest privately-run hospitals have gone on strike to protest nearly four months of salary delays.

A non-medical staffer at the Saad Specialist Hospital in the eastern city of al-Khobar told The Associated Press on Monday that around 200 employees are on strike. The strike began around three weeks ago, but picked up steam on Sunday and Monday after Eid holidays.

Speaking anonymously for fear of retribution, the staffer says the last time workers were paid salaries was in May. She says doctors and nurses are among those on strike, but that emergency care workers and some medical practitioners are not striking to care for patients most in need.

The Saad Group, which owns the hospital, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.