Indian employees of Bahrain hospital go without pay for months

Many Indians are among 200 employees of a hospital in Bahrain who have not been paid their salaries for months and are struggling to make ends meet, a media report said Tuesday.

"These people who work as cleaners, attenders and security men are often without food and we sometimes pool money to help," Gulf Daily News quoted a nurse as saying.

"Many doctors -- Indians and Europeans -- are in a fix. They cannot leave, mainly because of their long service and dues that are owed to them," added the nurse.

A representative of the International Hospital of Bahrain (IHB) on Budaiya highway, who did not wish to be named, blamed the patients for the hospital's cash flow problems, saying they have not been paying their medical bills on time.

Meanwhile, nurses and doctors with the hospital have been quitting their jobs en masse, sources said.

"Last month alone, 14 nurses quit because they were not being paid," a hospital employee was quoted as saying.

"Our salaries range between 200 Bahraini dinars (over $530) and 350 Bahraini dinars for nurses and other categories while doctors are paid over 600 Bahraini dinars.

"We have home loans, car loans, children's fees, rent and other expenses and we do not know who to turn to for help," the employee added.

A senior official of Bahrain's labour ministry said the hospital management had pledged to pay its staff soon and urged employees to contact the ministry if they were still waiting for their pay.