& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

43 more back from Kuwait

Staff Correspondent
Another 43 deported Bangladeshi workers reached Dhaka yesterday from Kuwait, raising the total to 914, said Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET).
The Kuwaiti authorities started to deport Bangladeshi workers following labour strikes and demonstrations staged in late July by thousands of Asian workers, mainly Bangladeshis, over various demands including a pay hike.
Most Bangladeshi deportees told The Daily Star that the authorities had beaten them up before forcefully sending them home even though they did not take part in the ■ strikes or demonstrations.
The workers who returned i yesterday told BMET officials at Zia International Airport that "many more" in the Gulf state are still awaiting deportation.
The Bangladesh Embassy in Kuwait said the Kuwaiti authorities had arrested around 1,000 workers and freed 300 of them as allegations against them could not be proven. The authorities also assured the embassy officials of no further arrest of Bangladeshi workers.
On August 6, Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, the adviser for foreign affairs, expatriates' welfare and overseas employment, in a letter urged Kuwait Interior Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Khalid AJ-Jaber Al-Sabah not to deport any innocent Bangladeshis.
Many are being harshly deported to Bangladesh empty-handed for the fault of a few. When we are strong in principle to abide by the law, it is expected that our peace-loving workers would not suffer," the adviser said in the letter.
FROM PAGE 1
He also requested the Kuwaiti minister to conduct a full probe into the incidents and find out the reasons behind the worker unrest since it is in the common interest of the two nations that such incidents do not occur in future.
Meanwhile, the remaining Bangladeshi workers in Kuwait continue to endure sufferings as their employers, at least two cleaning companies, refused to pay up health insurance and residency fees for their workers, defying recent instructions of the Kuwait government, reported Arab Times quoting an official of the Bangladesh Embassy in Kuwait.
Earlier, the Kuwait government following the strikes had fixed monthly minimum wage for foreign workers - KWD 40 (Tk 10,265) for unskilled workers such as cleaners and KWD 70 (Tk 17,965) for security guards without any deduction.
The government also warned employers of punitive measures if they fail to comply wifh the government decision.
Arab Times yesterday quoted a Bangladesh Embassy official as saying that five hundred Bangladeshi workers have been asked by their employer to pay for their own health insurance and residency fees, KWD 77 (Tk 19,762) for each, within the next two days, otherwise their residency permits will not be renewed.
The embassy has reported the malpractice by the Kuwaiti employer to labour department and awaiting the department's response, the official added.
Until the Kuwaiti government announced the minimum wage, around 80 percent of the approximately 2.4 lakh Bangladeshis working in the oil-rich country used to earn a monthly salary of only KWD 20 (Tk5,132) orless.
Kuwait had stopped hiring fresh Bangladeshi workers in late 2006, claiming that the Bangladeshis were getting involved in various crimes in the country.
Human and labour rights activists strongly criticised the police atrocities on the Bangladeshi workers as well as their forceful deportation, saying that such actions are in contravention of the International Labour Organization convention.