Embassy comes to the rescue of Indian workers

Dubai, Apr 11 In order to protect the interests of Indian workers, the Indian embassy in Doha has posted on its website the names of Qatari companies that have gained notoriety for failing to pay salaries to their expatriate workers.The website has named a Doha-based manpower supply company, which does not have any project of its own, for perennial labour law violations. A number of Gulf based companies default in paying salary to workers on time. Due to unfavourable labour rules and the lack of trade unions to protect their rights, workers are always at the mercy of officials and company owners .

There are cases where workers were stranded for 5-6 months without food, water and electricity in their labour camps before their accounts are settled and repatriated to India, Gulf Times reported. Because of the 'continuous ill-treatment' of workers by the company, India's Labour ministry has blacklisted it, the embassy said on its website www.indianembassy.gov.qa.However, the firm tried to circumvent the ban by recruiting workers in the name of another company, which is also under the same management.

For the past eight months, the Indian Community Benevolent Fund (ICBF), set up by the embassy, has been supplying food to 55 workers who are languishing in the company's labour camp where electricity and water supplies used to be cut off and on for nonpayment.The ambassador has taken up the matter with the Ministry of Interior in December last and the Minister for Civil Service and housing in January this year, said the embassy.It will be interesting if other Indian embassies in the region, especially Saudi Arabia nd Oman publish the name of companies which violate labour rules and default in salary payments. -keralamonitor.com

Britain Withdrawing Army from Gulf

LONDON - The British Ministry of Defence said on Friday that Britain is beginning to scale back its military deployment in the Gulf, as the first phase of the military campaign in Iraq has finished."The first phase of the campaign has made considerable progress," a spokeswoman for the ministry said

"One of the field hospitals is being brought back because it is thought there are sufficient remaining in the theater to be able to deal with any casualties," the spokeswoman said."Also, a squadron of Royal Air Force Tornadoes are returning today as well," she added.However, she said, the war is not over yet and there is still along way to go.

"There are plenty more to be done," she said.Asked if Britain has any plan to send more troops to the Gulf, the spokeswoman said that for troops that have already been in action in the Gulf for sometime, replacement is likely.But at the moment, she said, Britain was not going to send additional troops in numbers to the region.

In another development, British Armed Forces Minister Adam Ingram told reporters on Friday that this was by no means the beginning of a full scale reduction."Our commitment to Iraq's future is undiminished and we are in the very early stages of beginning to look at the post-conflict phase," he said."It would not make sense to keep personnel in the region any longer than is necessary. Some have already returned and some will return shortly," he added.Britain, the firmest US ally in this ongoing war against Iraq, has committed about 45,000 troops to the conflict.