Hundreds of Bangladeshi migrant workers in Lebanon went on strike from last two weeks to protest against unfair wages and ill treatment by the employer company Ramco, a major waste-management company that serves Mount Lebanon and some areas of Beirut.
Due to the dollar crisis, migrant employees at Ramco Waste Management, who are predominantly Bangladeshi and Indian, have not received their salaries in US dollars as per their contracts.
Although the listed exchange rate is 1,515 Lebanese pounds to the dollar, in actuality it has soared to 4,200, due to the country’s economic crisis.
عمال النظافة في شركة #رامكو إعترضوا على عدم دفع مستحقاتهم بالدولار الأميركي أو ما يعادله حسب سعر الصرف كما ينص عقدهم
— hamza (@hsnhamzatov) May 12, 2020
فما كان من صاحب الشركة متعهد كل مشاريع الدولة جهاد العرب إلا ان احضر لهم ثكنة عسكرية وقاموا بالإعتداء بالضرب المبرح على العمال
الدولة تعمل تحت إمرة مجموعة لصوص. pic.twitter.com/ENTV8mw2rf
According to a Lebanese news portal, IMLebanon article, Ramco’s contract stated: The Lebanese government was to make the payments in dollars to cover the salaries of the foreign workers and all the imported goods used in the business, as well as the expenses for maintenance.
Workers are getting less by being paid in Lebanese pounds instead of dollars.
To put pressure on the company, they protested and closed the company’s main entrance on May 12.
Their frustration led them to damage at least 15 trucks. In response, Ramco called on Lebanese authorities to handle the situation and break up the protest.
الثورة تتضامن مع عمّال رامكو |
— Megaphone (@megaphone_news) May 13, 2020
عمّال رامكو يُقمَعون والثوار يرددون: ثورة العمال#رامكو #قمع #ضد_القمع #قوى_الامن #ثورة #لبنان_ينتفض #لبنان pic.twitter.com/1BgOSV4IFT
Things became ugly before later calming down.
Workers later complained in a statement that Ramco is violating their rights, both to fair compensation and healthy conditions.
In addition, the statement said that the security forces tried to kill one of the Bangladeshi workers named Enayet Ullah.
On April 8, Enayet demonstrated symptoms of a mental illness, but Ramco officials failed to offer him any treatment; instead, they locked him in a dark, underground room for three days, where he was psychologically and physically tortured.
"He completely lost his mental balance. Then, the security guards took him to the canteen, where they grabbed him by his chest and tried to strangle him," the statement read.
Workers are getting less by being paid in Lebanese pounds instead of dollars | CollectedAccording to ImpACT International, a London-based human rights policies think-tank, the workers also report that 10 to 15 people each month are either not paid at all or receive only partial compensation; when they complain to the supervisor, they are ignored, or he becomes angry.
Addressing the matter, First Secretary (Labour) of Bangladesh embassy in Beirut, Abdullah Al Mamun told Dhaka Tribune, “The dollar price has risen sharply since last November due to the economic downturn in Lebanon. As a result, Ramco was paying workers in local currencies without paying them in dollars. This reduced the salaries of the workers by about one third.
“Another issue is that employees usually work 26 days in a month. But due to the coronavirus lockdown, the workers are working for 13 days, on every alternate day. The company was only paying them for those 13 days, which made them angry.
“Ramco representatives came to the embassy yesterday (Monday). They promised to increase the salary and pay the full 26 days during the lockdown. Today (Tuesday) our representative informed the workers about the development,” Mamun added.
Meanwhile, Ramco also expects the Lebanese government to make the payments they agreed on, in dollars or its equivalent in LBP (based on the exchange rate now over 4,000 LBP/1 USD).
Ramco CEO Wassim Ammache told leading Lebanese television Murr TV that since the USD is the issue, the best option now is to send the migrant workers back home.
“Perhaps new positions will open for Lebanese citizens, many of whom desperately need the opportunity more than ever,” Wassim said.