E-Paper
5 Jharkhand migrant workers ‘denied’ wages in Cameroon, seeks govt help in return
The migrant workers from Jharkhand were hired by a Mumbai-based multinational company to lay power lines in central African country.
Five migrant workers from Jharkhand working in a company in Africa's Cameroon have requested the state government to facilitate their return after allegedly being denied wages for several months. The workers shared a video requesting a return to India with a social activist, Sikander Ali, who brought the matter before the government on Saturday.
The migrant workers were hired by a Mumbai-based multinational company to lay power lines in a central African country, news agency PTI reported. The workers have alleged that they have not been paid their salaries for the last five months.
Team leader of the State Migrant Control Room, Shikha Lakra, who works under Jharkhand’s labour department, said that they have taken the documents of the five migrant workers and are now "taking up the issue with the Indian Embassy in Cameroon to arrange for their safe return.”
Also read: 48 Indians stranded in Tunisia with ‘no money for food’, forced to work for free
Sikander Ali, who received the video requesting the return of workers, brought the matter before the state labour department and said that the migrants in the video clip have claimed that "denial of salaries has led them to face difficulties with accommodation and food".
He also noted that the workers have appealed to the government for help and he has also urged the government to take necessary steps in the interest of workers stranded abroad.
Further, he informed that four of the five stranded workers come from Jharkhand's Vishnugarh area in Hazaribagh district, and one from Dumri in Giridih.
Also read: Indian vlogger steps in to rescue foreign tourist stuck on a Nepal hillside, video goes viral
Earlier this month, 48 migrant workers from Jharkhand were reportedly stranded in Tunisia, facing harsh conditions and being forced to work without pay. The workers alleged that they were employed in the North African nation through a Delhi-based private firm. They were being asked to work overtime, on top of being asked to work for free.
