Indian workers get wages after four months >From Indo-Asian News Service
Dubai, July 18 (IANS) Nearly 4,000 labourers, mostly Indian, who had not been paid their wages for four months by a United Arabs Emirates (UAE) construction firm will finally get their dues. The labourers are to get their salary dues following intervention by the UAE labour and social affairs ministry and the Indian consulate. Some 3,000 employees of the company staged a protest earlier this week against non-payment of wages. They went to the UAE labour and social affairs ministry offices and other locations in Dubai and Fujairah to register their complaint. The workers of the company, which had sponsored some 5,000 labourers, had not been paid for four months and could not send any money home to their families. The dispute was resolved after hectic consultations between officials of the ministry, the Indian consulate, company management and aggrieved workers. An Indian official told IANS the company began payment of two months' overdue wages, with the promise of paying the remainder in two instalments, the first within 10 days and the other on August 10. "The workers agreed to the plan because the company had given these assurances in writing to the UAE labour and social affairs ministry", the official said. The workers also spoke about the miserable living conditions at the labour camps and the breach of contract on the firm's part for not providing air tickets to workers for going on vacation, a local newspaper said. The workers had marched together in scorching heat -- in temperatures ranging 45 degrees centigrade. A ministry official was quoted as saying the labour and social affairs ministry coordinated with Dubai Police in dispersing and calming down the angry workers who also complained of bad living conditions. Labour and Social Affairs Minister Matar Humaid Al Tayer told Al Khaleej newspaper that officials inspect contracting companies to check their labour records. He said such measures were aimed at ensuring that companies complied with provisions of the labour law. He said companies violated the laws when they delayed salaries and said the ministry will blacklist companies which delay wages of their staff and implement penalties stipulated by law. --Indo-Asian News Service =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-W-E-B---S-I-T-E-=-=-= To Subscribe/Unsubscribe from GoaNet | http://www.goacom.com/goanet =================================================================== For (un)subscribing or for help, Contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Dont want so many e=mails? Join GoaNet-Digest instead ! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Help support non-commercial projects in Goa by advertizing!! * * * * Your ad here !!
