By IANS,
Dubai : Around 100 Asian workers of a Saudi Arabian company, Indians included, are in a crisis after their employer did not pay their salaries for months and kept them in labour camps minus power and water connections, a newspaper reported Wednesday.
The workers, mainly from India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and the Philippines, are employees of the Riyadh-based Al-Omrania & Al-Wagaiya Catering and Maintenance Company, the Arab News reported.
“The workers, who are now on the verge of starvation, have been living in cramped accommodation without electricity and water for several days,” the report quoted Kunju Mohammed, one of the Indian workers, as saying.
Some workers alleged that their employer had withheld their passports as also their Iqamas or local identity cards.
“Power and water supply have not been restored to the labour camp, which is in the far-flung Azizia district of Riyadh,” R. Muraleedharan, convenor of the Federation of Kerala Associations in Saudi Arabia, told the daily. “This is because the company has not paid the bills.”
He added that though some workers received decisions in their favour after approaching the court, the company was not complying with the court’s orders.
Attempts to contact the company management remained unsuccessful, the newspaper said.