Extreme Force Nepali workers strike work

Alexander M Arrackal

Staff Reporter

Eighteen Nepali labourers of Extreme Force, a Bin Hindi company, struck work yesterday demanding higher wages and better working conditions.Their demands included better healthcare facilities, one day off, prompt overtime payment and stopping of all harassment by the junior staff of the company.
“If our needs cannot be met we are ready to return to Nepal,” they said.

“The recruiting company, Apollo Manpower Services, told us that we would be paid BD90 and we would be working as cleaners and securitymen in hospitals, hotels and supermarkets. When we came here we were asked to work in Alba in the hot sun. We are not used to this kind of heat,” they said.

Apollo’s Managing Director, K K Pradhan told Bahrain Tribune from Kathmandu that the company had not made any such promises. “The boys were only told they would work as security men and cleaners.

Yes, we told them they would be paid BD90, with a basic salary of BD55, four hours overtime of BD20 and holiday compensation of BD15.”

Jassim Ali, Operations Manager of Extreme Force had a different story to tell. His juniors tried in vain to tow his version, even when it provided yawning gaps.

Ali showed Tribune a document signed by an employee after reaching Bahrain, where the basic salary mentioned was BD50.

However, an offer letter in the possession of an employee mentioned BD55 as the basic, showing a discrepancy of BD5 a month. The letter with the employee was signed by Sayyid Muhyyiddeen, Acting General Manager of Extreme force.

Company officials said the employees striking work were doing so because they did not want to work and pointing to Angcheri Sherpa, one of the striking employees they said that he never worked even a single day.

However, the time-sheet of the camp boss and the foreman showed that he was absent only for three days. The supervisor’s sheet though said that he did not work even a single day.

Discrepancies in company records were quite evident. Some of the employees were declared absent of three to over five days, when the employees said that they were either not absent or had been absent only two to three days, proving claims of harassment.

Pradhan told Tribune from Kathmandu, “The boys have no experience in this field. I told them they have to be experts in three months.”

“We have been in touch with Sayyid, who promised to dwell by the contract.I have spoken to Sayyid about the strike and he has promised to deliver whatever was promised. So I asked the boys to get back to work.”

At the time of going to Press, the striking workers were meeting with the Sayyid – who was unavailable for comment, though he was contacted on his cellphone