A group of Bangladeshi labourers employed by a Maldivian company have placed allegations of mistreatment and corruption against their employer company to Transparency Maldives.
Transparency Maldives has run a report titled “Bangladeshi migrant workers in Maldives stand against corruption and ill-treatment” published on Saturday.
The report reads: “They (Bangladeshi labourers) were ill-treated, stripped of their basic rights and forced to work for 13 hours a day.”
“They worked without resistance because they feared the loss of their only source of income to support themselves and their families back in Bangladesh.”
According to the report, the workers alleged that they had received no payment for six months.
They went to their employer repeatedly, explaining that they need the money to feed themselves and their families but their employer refused to pay them by saying the company was struggling financially, the report said.
Under the circumstances, the workers filed a complaint against the company at the Labour Relations Authority of Maldives.
Later, the employer company cut the electricity from their living quarters as punishment.
Finally, the labourers came to an international rights body for its advocacy and legal aid.
The body placed written allegations to the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives explaining the situation and urged for an immediate solution.
The commission responded positively and as a result electricity was restored in the living quarters of the labourers within 24 hours, the rights body said.
The advocacy and legal aid center also said they are monitoring the situation to ensure that the Bangladeshi workers receive their due payments.