Sharjah, November 06: For seven long months, driven by want and hunger, these unpaid industrial workers have been surviving on fish they catch each day.
More than 50 workers of Asian descent employed in a Sharjah dhow and shipbuilding firm say they have been driven to the desperate act as they have not received salaries for seven months.
They gathered in protest at Al Buhaira Corniche near the Millennium Hotel in Sharjah on Thursday afternoon. They told Khaleej Times they were not provided with food, forcing them to catch fish every day, which they grilled to ward off hunger.
Police officials at the protest site refused to talk to the Press. However, they asked the protesters to nominate three representatives to present their charter of demands to the company. The rest were sent back.
Arshad, one of the protesters, said the company based in Al Hamriya Free Zone specialised in making yachts, dhows and ships. Salaries in the range of Dh1,500 to Dh3,000, depending on the type of work, remained unpaid.
Qassim Ali, an official from the company, said the firm was going through a financial crisis, which resulted in the delay. “But currently the company is making great efforts to pay workers their dues and make arrangements for the terminated to return home,” Ali maintained.
He said though the management had every intention of paying the workers in previous months, they could not manage it, despite sincere efforts.
Arshad said the company, which had 250 workers, had terminated the services of 80 in previous months when they demanded their dues. “We had tried to talk to the management several times. They promised the salaries due, but did not keep their promise,” he added.
A Ministry of Labour official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that officials from the company management had been summoned and the matter would be resolved soon through an agreement.
“We are suffering from lack of food and have no money to send back to our families waiting for us,” Arshad said. “We only just want our salary due and the company can send us back home. We eat sea fish and drink dirty water. What a life it is! It’s better to go back home than being humiliated this way,” he added.
–Agencies