70 Indians return from the Kuwait, accuse their employers of cruelty

At least 70 Indian workers, who returned from Kuwait to Ludhiana, have accused their employer of fraud and harassment.

Ludhiana, Sept. 8 : At least 70 Indian workers, who returned from Kuwait to Ludhiana, have accused their employer of fraud and harassment.

All of them were employed with the 'Sahar Al-Raola' trading company through agents in New Delhi and Chandigarh.

The workers, moslty masons, carpenters and mechanics, had shelled out between 90,000 and 150,000 rupees to work for the company.

They were promised 'handsome' salaries of 15-20,000 rupees. However, they got a pittance of this promised amount.

"The agent sent me on a working visa. I worked for two months, after which they gave us 20 Dinars ($5.62). When we asked for more money, they beat us up," said Bindar Bandra, a mason from Jalandhar.

Jeevan Ram, a metal mechanic, was shocked to hear that the company he worked for did not exist.

"I was to be sent to a certain Al-Fahad Travel and Tour Company. On reaching Kuwait, I found that the company did not exist. They made me do menial work, like sweeping, scavenging and carrying load around the work site," he said.

"If we refused, they would whip us with belts. They would force us to work at gunpoint, saying that at 5 Dinars ($1.5), bullets were too cheap for them to give a second thought to shooting us dead," he added.

The returnees said the Indian Embassy in Kuwait failed to provide them with any kind of assistance.

They said they would file police complaints against the company's agents, both of whom have reportedly gone missing.

Millions of semi-skilled and unskilled labourers from across India migrate to Gulf countries every year, and most of them are absorbed in the construction sector, which enjoys a boom in the oil-rich nations.

ANI