NEARLY 250 migrant workers are out on the streets after being evicted from their labour accommodation in Nuwaidrat.
The employees of G P Zachariades (GPZ) Civil Engineering and Contractors were escorted out of the labour camp by the police yesterday morning after the landlord won a court case against the firm for overdue rent.
Row
The men walked out into the scorching summer heat as temperatures reached 42C yesterday – claiming they weren’t even allowed to take their personal belongings as the property was sealed off.
GPZ has been at the centre of a major pay row since 2017, with hundreds of employees ranging from senior management to labourers awaiting pending wages while a number of protests have been staged in the last two years.
“We do not know what happened, suddenly police came early in the morning and all of us were asked to leave the rooms,” one of the labourers, an Indian national, told the GDN.
“I was in my room when one of my friends came and told us we all have to go out.
“We did not know they were locking up the place.
“Even the office was vacated and the police put a lock on the gate.
“We are almost 250 people standing in the heat with nothing – where do we go?”
However, Labour and Social Development Ministry Under-Secretary Sabah Al Doseri told the GDN that the company was instructed last week to find a new accommodation for its employees.
“The landlord has secured a court order based on a case filed by him following overdue of the lease payment for the premises,” he said.
“The company informed us about this and we told them to find a new place for the employees.
“We met with the (GPZ management) on Tuesday and this was reassured to us – so we are following up the matter.”
GPZ employees have staged a number of protests over non-payment of wages since 2017, with the latest one in March where 11 labourers were arrested for allegedly blocking a highway in Nuwaidrat.
However, GPZ has repeatedly blamed late salaries on delays in receiving payment for work it carried out.
The GDN reported in March that the employees were living in fear of arrest and deportation after some of them were detained and sent home because they were picked up without legal residency documents.
“Some of us were working on a major project but we stopped last month as we have not been paid for eight months,” said another Indian labourer yesterday.
“There are others who are sitting without jobs for six months as they are waiting for their settlements to go back home.
“We have repeatedly told everyone approaching us that we are surviving on one meal a day and some days even without that, as the cold store next to us has stopped giving us credit.
“Almost all the officials of the company have left the country and only the labourers, who are poor, are left behind.
“We wonder if there is anyone to help us as our families back home are struggling too.”
The GDN also learned yesterday that the landlord of GPZ’s head office in Budaiya has also filed a court case seeking to evict the firm over unpaid rent totalling over BD200,000.
Order
“I filed the case three weeks ago after repeatedly asking for payment and waiting for years,” said the Bahraini landlord.
“They owe us over BD200,000 and we need a court order to evacuate the place.
“All they have to say is that they don’t have money.”
Well-placed sources also confirmed that police have sealed the company’s warehouse in Sitra after the management reportedly sold 80 per cent of the machinery despite being asked not to.
“They had big machines and construction tools worth a lot of money and they have been selling them in parts, and the money has definitely not been used to settle pending payments,” added the sources.
On March 17 Shura Council member Mona Almoayyed proposed freezing the activities of companies like GPZ until they pay staff wages on time.
GPZ officials could not be reached for comment yesterday.
raji@gdn.com.bh
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