When 800 distraught workers began a protest march down a main highway here last week, they set off a national debate about the treatment of...foreign workers... The protest was by no means the first of its kind here, but it was unprecedented in its scale and visibility...[Far] more astonishing was the government's response...[The] labor minister, Ali bin Abdullah al-Kaabi, issued an unexpectedly tough ruling that shook many companies to their roots. [refers to Al Hamed Development and Construction (part of Al Hamed Enterprises)]