65 workers allege non-payment, seek Indian Embassy intervention

Sixty-five expatriate workers from Mashhoor al Asfoor Trading and Contracting have accused their employer of non-payment of salary and forcing them to stay without valid residence cards for about two years. They gathered at the Indian Embassy in hope of a solution on Sunday morning.

“We have not been paid for more than six months now and our sponsor has refused to renew our residence cards. He is not allowing us to return to India either,” a worker told Muscat Daily on condition of anonymity.

The workers said their salary was RO80, with an additional RO20 as food allowance. Some of them have been with the company for the last six years, but did not face any problems until about a year back.

With no money to buy food, the workers claim they have gone hungry for days. “At times, we only drink water all day,” the worker said. They also compl-ained about unhygienic conditions at their camp in Mabela industrial area.

“The septic tank begins to overflow and we are unable to use the toilets for several days.” The employer has turned a deaf ear to their complaints.

The group finally lodged a case at the labour court on January 4. “When we went there on January 14, the date given for the hearing, we were told to wait for two more weeks,” the worker added. “This forced us to seek the embassy's intervention.”

“The case is with the Ministry of Manpower now and we are trying to settle the matter,” said an official from the company who initially declined to comment on the matter. “The workers have been paid salaries for the months of September and October 2011 and the version given by them is incorrect.”

He said the company would pay the fines when sending the workers back later this month. “We do not plan to renew the workers' residence cards as they want to go back to India. Their dues will be settled before they leave the company.”