Trade Arabia - Pics courtesy: Daily News and Alarabia online
Manama, Jul 31: Most of the workers caught in Sunday's labour camp blaze in Bahrain paid huge amounts to "buy" their visas, it was revealed yesterday.
Many of them paid Rs120,000 to Rs140,000 (BD1,000 to BD1,200) each to agents either in India or Bahrain.
This was revealed to Indian Ambassador Balkrishna Shetty by seven survivors of the disaster who were undergoing treatment at Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC).
Shetty was taken to each patient by Health Ministry Under-Secretary Dr Aziz Hamza, Assistant Under-Secretary for Hospitals Dr Abdulhai Al Awadhi, SMC accident and emergency department chairman Dr Nabeel Al Ansari and senior doctors Dr M R Valsalan and Dr Osama Awad.
One worker told how, on top of paying about BD1,000 initially for his visa, he had to pay BD450 to his sponsor to renew it on completion of his two-year contract.
Sources said most of the workers were forced to pay BD450 to renew their employment contracts every two years.
Those who are unable to pay in a lump sum had instalments deducted from their salaries.
The company also deducts BD11.500 a month each from the workers' salaries, towards the cost of accommodation. The average salary paid is BD3 a day.
Among the survivors were free visa workers. "We are paid 500 fils per hour and I am supplied to Royal Tower Construction by another company," said one worker, whose sponsor's name in his CPR card is shown as Atiaf Construction Company.
Shetty said he was shocked to see hundreds of his countrymen falling victim to unscrupulous agents in Bahrain and India.
"I don't understand why our people pay such huge sums to agents to work here for a meagre salary and live in such miserable conditions," he told the Gulf Daily News, our sister publication.
Shetty said the accommodation provided to the workers was unhygienic and too overcrowded. "How can the authorities allow the employer to dump up to 15 to 20 workers in each room?" he asked.
"There was no fire escape in the building. With grilled windows around, the place looks like a prison."
Shetty said he was extremely grateful to Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, who inspected the gutted building and vowed to punish anyone found guilty of violations.
Shetty thanked the police and the Civil Defence and Fire Services Directorate officials, who he said acted swiftly to bring the blaze under control and save many lives.
Shetty said the embassy was closely monitoring the situation. People who need support should contact the embassy on 17712683, 17712649, 17714209, First Secretary A K Bhatnagar on 17714551, 17729880 (residence) or 39745640, or Raghunathan on 39745640.-TradeArabia News Service
Fire Tragedy - India may Sue Employer Firm
IANS
Bahrain: India may press manslaughter charges against a Bahraini firm, 16 of whose Indian workers died in a labour camp fire on Sunday.
According to reports, India's Ambassador to Bahrain Balkrishna Shetty told community leaders that the embassy was seriously considering filing a case of manslaughter against the owner of the Royal Tower Construction Company.
Apart from the 16 dead, 11 others were injured in the fire that broke out after an electrical short-circuit at the company's labour camp in the Bahraini capital Manama early on Sunday.
"We think the Bahrain government should press for manslaughter against the company but if they don't we shall consult our legal team and consider the option ourselves," he was quoted as saying by the Bahrain Tribune newspaper.
The ambassador, who visited the site of the tragedy, expressed shock at the substandard working and living conditions of the workers.
"How can the authorities allow the employer to dump up to 15 to 20 workers in each room?" Gulf Daily News newspaper quoted him as asking.
"There was no fire escape in the building. With grilled windows around, the place looks like a prison," he said.
According to the Tribune report, the company is also in trouble with Bahrain's Ministry of Labour, which rejected the two alternative accommodation sites selected by the management for the survivors.
After the government's rejection, the company reportedly urged the workers to find their own accommodation.
The Indian embassy then stepped in and said that, according to the workers' contract and Bahraini labour laws, the accommodation of the workers, especially after such a disaster, was the responsibility of the sponsor, according to the Tribune report.
The survivors were consequently lodged in suitable accommodation in Manama.
Earlier reports: