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Saudi Construction Firm

1,500 migrant workers face food shortage

Staff Correspondent
Around 1,500 Bangladeshi migrant workers at a construction firm in Saudi Arabia have been allegedly suffering from food shortages.
The company is not paying workers' wages for months. Rather, it is firing employees, a report run by BBC Bangla Service said yesterday.
"We are now getting food once a day. Some Indian companies are helping their nationals. The Bangladeshis are also getting some help from their fellow Indian coworkers," Mizanur Rahman, a worker from Faridpur, told the British media outlet.
Talking to The Daily Star, Sarwar Alam, labour counsellor at the Bangladesh embassy in Riyadh, said some 1,500 workers at Saudi Oger, a leading construction company, were facing some difficulties as they did not get wages for the last six or seven months.
He, however, refuted the allegation that workers were not getting enough food. "Bangladeshi, Indian and Pakistani workers at the company faced difficulties in getting food for two days in last week as the caterer stopped supplying food," Sarwar said.
There is no problem now with food supplies as the caterer has resumed services under the direct supervision of the Saudi labour ministry, he mentioned, adding that they already discussed the matter with the Saudi labour minister.
“We are now preparing a database of Bangladeshi workers at the factory and collecting details about their problems after visiting labour camps. We are thinking of multiple ways to overcome the problems."
There is a strong possibility that the Saudi company would be closed, said the embassy official.
Sarwar added that the Bangladesh embassy recommended the Saudi labour ministry for immediate payment of all arrear wages of workers, renewal of workers' Iqama or work permits to enable them to switch jobs and granting permission to those who want to return home.
The news of workers' suffering came to light last week when some Indian media outlets reported that around 10,000 Indian employees at the construction firm were facing food shortages.
Indian Foreign Minister Sushma
Swaraj intervened in the humanitarian crisis last week after a distressed man at a camp in Jeddah sent a direct appeal for help, reported Times oflndia.
An Indian worker told the IANS that the Saudi construction sector was going through a slowdown due to the fall in global crude oil prices. "It has hit not only Saudi Arabia, but also the other Gulf countries,” he added.
Meanwhile, Saudi King Salman yesterday directed Labour and Social Development Minister Mufrej Al-Haqbani to take necessary measures to solve the problems faced by 2,500 Indian workers, reported Arab News.
"What happened was an individual act by one company which did a mistake," the minister told the media following a meeting with visiting Indian State Minister of External Affairs VKSingh.
Al-Haqbani said his country does not tolerate any violation to the rights of workers of any nationality.
Saudi Arabia, like other oil-rich Gulf countries, depends heavily on Asian migrant workers, mainly from India, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
Rights groups like Amnesty International over the years have reported that migrant workers in Gulf countries often suffer difficulties including nonpayment of wages, dangerous working conditions and poor accommodation.