Labourers protest over unpaid wages in Bahrain
Summary
Date Reported: 19 Jul 2016
Location: Bahrain
Companies
GP Zachariades - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: 2000
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Bangladesh , Construction , Gender not reported ) , Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Nepal , Construction , Gender not reported ) , Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Pakistan , Construction , Gender not reported ) , Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - India , Construction , Gender not reported ) , Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Europe & Central Asia , Construction , Gender not reported )Issues
Deaths , Intimidation , Right to Food , Failing to renew visas , Precarious/Unsuitable Living Conditions , Freedom of Expression , Wage TheftResponse
Response sought: Yes, by Journalist
Action taken: The Bahrain Labour Ministry has repeatedly replied to request for comment, both on allegations accompanied by formal complaints and protests. Following protests in January 2017, the Indian Embassy and Bahrain's Labour Ministry intervened to take up the issue with company management. The company paid one set of pending salaries immediately, but then failed to pay the next due salaries. During another January 2017 protest, a protester died after being struck by a tear gas canister fired by police; authorities claimed he had died from natural causes. In February 2020, NGO Migrant Rights reported that those workers who had received salaries were mostly European; those whose salaries remain unpaid are from South Asian countries including Nepal, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. The 52 workers interviewed by MR also reported that their embassies were not supportive. In 2021, Labour and Social Development Ministry filed a case against the company for failing to settle the wages of 18 expat workers.
Source type: News outlet
Hundreds of labourers in Bahrain have reportedly protested against unpaid salaries by GP Zachariades Civil Engineering and Contractors firm...more than 2,000 workers have not been paid their salaries for the past two-and-a-half months. The workers marched towards the Labour and Social Development Ministry from their labour accommodation... over 2,000 labourers took part in the protest.
GP denied this statement, claiming the figure was 600...also denied claims that the labourers were headed for the ministry - instead stating that they were 'moving from one camp to another'...[and the payment arrears were] equivalent to 45 days only...[caused by] late payments to the company from several private and government projects over the last few months.