Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

Call Centre Owners Sue Saudi Telecom | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat- In the latest twist to the ongoing conflict between call centre owners and Saudi Telecom, a number of investors in the sector have decided to appeal to the authorities in Saudi Arabia and hired the lawyer Haza al Faghm to demand an increase in their profit margin and to halt the slump of the sector which employs around twenty thousand Saudis.

The lawsuit comes at a time when 70% of all 4000 call centre owners are losing money with some already laying off staff and closing down. The losses are a direct result of the decreasing costs of international phone calls, which are set by Saudi Telecom. This has meant fewer customers as individuals turn to their mobiles or prepaid phone cards to call abroad. For its part, Saudi Telecom has shown great support for the prepaid companies despite mostly employing foreign workers.

Al Faghm told Asharq Al Awsat he will ask the Saudi Communications Authority to look into the case against Saudi Telecom and reconfigure the profit margin assigned to them in light of their current financial difficulties. If a favorable verdict proves impossible, he added, the legal team would file a lawsuit with the Board of Grievances.