A migrant workers rights group has taken up the cause of refurbishing labour camps in the country. The move by the Migrant Workers Protection Society (MWPS) comes in the wake of a fire accident in a labour shanty last week, where workers were packed like sardines and forced to live in inhuman conditions.
The MWPS has taken the first step by encouraging workers to use gas stoves instead of kerosene in their accommodations.
Sathis Kumar, MWPS Labour Safety and Welfare officer, said in a media briefing on Saturday that they started the project by adopting a labour camp in Barbar village.
“We installed 16 gas stove and 16 gas cylinders in the kitchen of the camp. We have seen that the kerosene stoves are placed on wooden tables or flammable products which are hazardous,” said Kumar.
But society members faced a daunting task of convincing the workers who were reluctant to allow gas stoves instead of their friendly and cheaper- Kerosene stove.
A society official said workers could easily obtain kerosene free from their worksites. In addition, it was more feasible as they had to shell about Rs 200 (Rs 50 for each 4 worker) to refill the gas stoves. MWPS was set up in 2002 and has volunteers from different nationalities who handle cases of abused migrant or domestic workers.
Community welfare workers and human rights groups have highlighted on several occasions about the low awareness among workers on the potential danger of inhalation of carbon monoxide through the usage of kerosene stoves.
Society officials plan to adopt more labour camps in the future, but are looking for donors and concerned government institutions to lend them a helping hand for their pilot project.
Labourers continue to live dangerously here, even after two years of the fire tragedy that took place, where 16 Indian workers were burned alive after a fire broke at their labour accommodation. Indian embassy officials here were quoted saying the fire started because workers had no place to cook other than their rooms. The fire also injured several workers who were crammed in a three- storey building in a residential area of Manama.
The families of the victims are still waiting for justice which is delayed by red tape or indifferent attitude by the Indian officials. The Indian embassy here is following the court case and demanding $ 4.3 million (approx) as compensation.
Following the fire, a series of inspection measures were launched by the Bahrain government to improve the living condition of labourers .Bahrain has signed this year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with India to ensure protection and welfare of the workers.
But things have not changed. Several construction and contracting companies were hit by strikes since the start of the year. Workers in most cases are upset with the bad living condition or pending salary.
Indians are the largest foreign population representing close to 300,000 living and working in the Kingdom. Most of the workers are employed in the booming construction sector of the country.
By Sandeep Singh Grewal
The author is a Bahrain based independent journalist writes for various newspapers and websites based in different parts of the globe. He can be reached at sandy.media@gmail.com
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