136 Workers Abandoned By Employer, Left Without Electricity And Water.

Workers from South Asia and Africa have been abandoned without water and electricity for two months at their camp in Mahboula. The group’s spokesman, Chengetai, stated that they were unattended to by their management since the start of COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Chengtai: “For the last six months, we don’t have a salary – we are surviving on donations. We have a Kuwaiti sponsor but he is not involved in the operation. Our actual employer is a Singaporean who left before the lockdown. So we are abandoned, literally. We staged a sit-in protest in June and they promised us to pay our salaries, but it was only a promise. The sponsor did not deliver on his promise, maybe because he is not involved directly in our company,”

 “Since March, he has given us only KD 800, which we divided among 136 workers from various countries, so barely KD 6 in the last six months, meaning we only got KD 1 per month! In this company, the majority of us are from Zimbabwe – 51 – and 29 from Mozambique, with the rest from India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka,” He stated.

“We are destitute here and want to go back home to our countries, but we need our money. We need to help our families survive too. One of our colleagues died of COVID, some are sick, but we are trying to survive. Some of our fellow workers have no iqamas too,” Chengetai said.

He also said the ill treatment by the building’s haris began in April, when the owner of the building disconnected their water and electricity in a bid to force them to leave the building. “After some negotiations, they reinstated the electricity and water, but they continue to pressure us. Now they cut it once in a while – in June they completely stopped the water, while electricity is cut erratically to pressure us to leave the building. Some of us are forced to sleep in the corridors to get fresh air in the middle of the night. This is a terrible situation for us and I hope the government and our respective embassies help us,” he lamented.

 

The victims mainly work at KOC division, under a subcontracted firm to get rid of ordnances and explosive devices. However, there are machine operators, drivers, and others that have been with the company over the years.

Chengetai said that the both of embassies of Mozambique and Zimbabwe were notified about their ordeal, but they are yet to get the required support. “We are very sad and some of us have been experiencing medical problems because of stress and anxiety. But we want to get our salaries before we go back to our countries. How can we start a life back in our countries without money in our pockets,” he queries.

Many expats did not receive salaries and about half a million lost their job because their companies shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic.“We understand we are all in a dire situation, but be kind to us too – we are all human. How can we live without water and electricity in the middle of summer,” Chengetai demanded.

 

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