At least 500 Indian workers in Bahrain reach out to Sushma Swaraj, claiming salaries not paid

Indian workers in Bahrain have reached out to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) after around 500 workers complained of not having received their salaries for months and surviving on food handouts.

Indian workers in Gulf countries continue to face difficulties at work.

A group of people who work at a private company in Bahrain requested the Indian government for help through social media.

They said that at least 500 workers had not been paid their dues for several months and were surviving on food handouts, the Hindu reported.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj contacted the Indian Embassy in Manama on Thursday and instructed them to help the distressed Indian workers.

"Indian embassy in Bahrain is seized of the matter and will help them," Swaraj said after followers on her Twitter page



asked her to intervene.

The Indian embassy in Bahrain responded and said: "The matter has been taken up with the local Govt. Mission is working for a speedy resolution to the issue."

This comes after the Telangana government appealed to Swaraj to help free 29 Indian workers who are employed in a Saudi Arabian company following which the external affairs minister ordered the Indian Embassy in Riyadh to look into the matter.

The case in Bahrain is the latest in a series of incidents involving Indian workers not receiving salaries and proper working conditions in the countries under the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

In July 2016, Swaraj's intervention helped 800 Indian workers, who were starving due to unpaid wages and lack of resources in Saudi Arabia, return to India.