Indian Embassy in Bahrain to sue company over unpaid wages

India will lodge a complaint in Bahrain's Labour Court against a local company that has allegedly not paid its workers for nine months.
A group of 30 Indians employed with Bramco Group, a Bahraini conglomerate with interests ranging from mining to marble supply, complained to Ambassador Mohan Kumar at an open house session at the Indian Embassy in Adliya yesterday that they had not been paid their wages.
"The Indian Embassy will file an official complaint against the company at the Labour Court with the help of its lawyer," Kumar was quoted by the Gulf Daily News as saying.
The workers claimed they have not been paid for up to nine months and pleaded with the envoy to end their ordeal.

They said they were speaking on behalf of over 350 employees from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Thailand and the Philippines.
The workers held a protest at their accommodation in Askar on the southeastern coast of Bahrain last Monday and threatened to go on strike next week if their demands are not met.

The Ambassador was informed that 53 workers had already resigned and wanted to return home.
Kumar advised the group to continue staying at accommodation until the embassy resolves the problem.
Lawyer Bushra Mayoof, who represents the embassy, said the case will be filed tomorrow, but it could take up to two months for a ruling to be issued.

"We will file the case against the company and the judgement could take two months," she said.
She urged Bramco officials to find a quick solution as judges could rule against them, which could lead to the company being blacklisted for violating the Labour Law.
The Gulf Daily News yesterday reported that the company's general manager Rashid Al Maloud said it had suffered losses of half a million dinars after its workers downed tools for two days.
He denied that staff had gone without pay for nine months, but claimed that some had not been paid for four months because they had taken advance salary for that period.

There are nearly 450,000 Indians working in Bahrain, making them the biggest expatriate community in the kingdom.
Bramco is a major mining, earth moving and marble supply company established in 1977. Its annual turnover is USD 150 million and it employs over 1,000 people.