“Prestigious” construction company in Bahrain leaves workers in despair
Summary
Date Reported: 9 Jun 2020
Location: Bahrain
Companies
Fundament SPC - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: 700
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Bangladesh , Construction , Gender not reported ) , Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - India , Construction , Gender not reported ) , Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Pakistan , Construction , Gender not reported )Issues
Intimidation , Right to Food , Failing to renew visas , Precarious/Unsuitable Living Conditions , Freedom of Expression , Wage TheftResponse
Response sought: Yes, by Resource Centre; NGO
Story containing response: (Find out more)
Action taken: 150 of the workers who resigned between six and eight months ago are still awaiting their end-of-service benefits. They live, stranded, in a separate labour camp while they wait for the outcome of a labour complaint, lodged with the Ministry of Labour on 31 May. Their visas are expired and they struggle to survive without food and money. Migrant Rights called on the Bahrain Govt. to use the billion dollar fund, established to pay Bahraini employees in the private sector during the COVID-19 pandemic, to pay the workers. Business & Human Rights Resource Centre invited Fundament SPC to respond to the allegations of unpaid wages. They denied the allegations. In July, GDN Online reported that the 150 resigned workers came to an agreement with the company. The settlement agreement is less that what was owed to them (35%) and Migrant Rights warn that this is not the first time settlements are reached, only to be broken later. They added that two workers had been punished for filing complaints at the Labour Ministry. GDN Online also reported that workers had participated in a protest before being stopped by police, and that charities continued to provide essential food aid to workers in the camp.
Source type: NGO
700 workers of Fundament SPC, a construction company, are victims of non-payment of wages... of up to 8 months, around 150 workers who resigned six to eight months ago are still waiting for their dues and settlement. The workers who have not resigned live in a separate camp and continue to work on active projects...
With the assistance of social workers, the 150 Fundament SPC workers lodged a complaint at the Ministry of Labour (MoL) on 31 May...
Migrant-Rights.org reached out to the company on their registered email but received no response. According to the workers, the company’s management has not been responsive and continuously ignores their calls.