20/10/2020
Hundreds of Indian workers demand unpaid wages from Saudi firm
More than 280 returned migrant workers are
seeking end-of-contract payments in a rare
o cial complaint
By Anuradha Nagaraj
CHENNAI, India, Oct 19 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Hundreds of
Indian migrant workers who were laid o by a construction company
in Saudi Arabia due to the coronavirus pandemic have led a rare
complaint to the Indian government over unpaid earnings, lawyers
and campaigners said.
More than 280 labourers - who were red by the Nasser S Al Hajri
Corporation (http://alhajricorporation.com/) before being own
home on chartered ights in July - are part of what is believed to be
the biggest collective case of its kind, said their lawyer Subhash
Chand.
Chand said all of the workers had been at the rm for at least ve
years - some over a decade - and were entitled to a "substantial
amount" in outstanding end-of-contract bene ts.
"Most of (the workers) con rmed that they had been asked to sign
blank papers or documents that they didn't understand ... (in order to
get) their passports and tickets," said Chand, who is part of Lawyers
Beyond Borders, a network of legal experts.
"Many didn't want to return without their money but had no choice,"
he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone.
https://news.trust.org/item/20201019120025-lfwpj/
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