Saudi- Anti-dengue workers seek hazard pay, protective gear 

(MENAFN - Arab News) Dengue fever disease control workers here are asking the Mayor's Office to provide them with extra pay and more protective equipment in handling hazardous devices and toxic chemicals while executing their responsibilities.

This comes after three workers were badly burned when a spraying device exploded while they were spraying for mosquitoes in a local district. The workers say their jobs are potentially harmful to their health and they want extra pay to compensate for the hazards involved.

However, the Mayor's Office said the workers have already been given protective gear including respiratory masks and protective shoes.

"Some of the workers do not take this gear seriously and do not wear it," a spokesman for the Mayor's Office Abdulaziz Al-Nahari was quoted as saying in a local newspaper.

Al-Nahari said a damage allowance was approved which will be added to workers' salaries starting next month.

The other demands will be considered, he added.
Al-Nahari said all those working in the program had to undergo training before they were deployed in the field.

Khaled Al-Zahrani, a dengue fever program worker, said he did not receive any training or protective equipment. "We learned from each other how to use the devices we were given. We received no allowances other than our salaries and a transportation allowance of SR 500," he said.

There are 300 dengue fever workers in Jeddah who are doing their jobs all over the city but receiving no attention from the Mayor's Office, claimed workers Badr Haqawi and Muhammad Shutairi.

The workers who were severely burned are Ramadan Al-Zahrani, Khalil Al-Muwallad and Abdullah Al-Sulami. They are on leave. One of them is still hospitalized. Their families are demanding high-level treatment. The mother of one worker said the Mayor's Office should bear the cost of the plastic surgery her son needs for his severe facial burns.