HR group takes up case of maltreatment of 21 Indian workers

DUBAI, June 9 (UNI): A Human Rights Organisation in the Kingdom of Bahrain has taken up the case of 21 indian workers complaining of maltreatment, holding back of salaries and forcing them to work overtime without off days.

The Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR) of the Migrant Workers Group (MWG) has filed complaints against the Al Owainati construction with the police, the labour and social affairs ministry and the foreign affairs ministry.

One worker, Jojo John, is alleged to have been sent back to India last weekend, just hours before he was to visit the Indian embassy to lodge a complaint, Gulf Daily news reported.

The workers claimed they were sometimes forced to work from 0830 hrs to 2300 hrs on weekdays, with only a lunch prepared by them and no food for the rest of the day.

They complained that they were paid a basic salary of around 80 Bahrain dollars a month, but were forced to work overtime of around 100 hours a month.