A group of 41 labourers claim to have been forced to sleep rough on the streets of Manama, Bahrain after their employer allegedly failed to pay for their accommodation.

The workers, a mix of Indian, Pakistani, Nepalese and Bangladeshi nationals, filed a complaint at Hoora Police Station yesterday (November 5) against Mafco Construction owner Mohamed Shehabi, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

They claim to have been evicted from their labour accommodation in Manama over two months of unpaid rent and also say they have not been paid wages for three months.

Shehabi, who is hoping to win a seat on the Northern Municipal Council representing Constituency One later this month, said that the workers only had two months worth of wages outstanding and told the GDN that he did not know 'what they are complaining about'.

“We know that the workers went to the police station and complained about us, but we have promised to pay them soon,” he said.

“We didn't pay them for two months as we were not paid by our clients.

'We are going to pay one month salary to them today and the second within a week.
“The workers are now being transferred from their accommodation in Manama to Duraz, which is spacious and more hygienic, with electricity and water.

“We don't know what they are complaining about, we informed them they would get their wages soon.”

Shehabi added that his was not only the company suffering because clients refused to pay on time.

“It's not only us but most of the major companies in Bahrain are suffering from this problem,” he said.

“But we have been in this business for years and know how to work with the market.”

Meanwhile the workers, who downed tools last week, are refusing to go back to work until their demands are met.

“We don't have money to buy food and are surviving on bread and water,” a worker told the GDN.

“We didn't receive our salary for the last three months and no one from the management is willing to speak to us.

“The owner of the building we were living in asked us to vacate our flat, as he didn't get rent for two months and we were on streets­ - no one came to help us.”

A Labour Ministry spokesman said we had called a meeting between both sides in a bid to resolve the issue.

The labourers are employed by Mafco Construction's cleaning and maintenance section covering Gosi Complex, Gulf Industrial Investment Company and Last Chance's Manama and Muharraq branches. - TradeArabia News Service