Hemant Soren directed the State Migrant Control Room to take immediate action, after which it contacted the workers and the company. File
| Photo Credit: ANI
A group of 47 migrant workers from Jharkhand who are trapped in Cameroon have received partial payment of their wages after an intervention by Chief Minister Hemant Soren.
Taking note of a complaint that the workers had not been paid for three months, the CM also directed Labour Commissioner Sanjeev Kumar Besra to register a first information report (FIR) against the employers and middlemen who sent them to the central African country in a fraudulent manner, without completing the required legal procedures.
The FIR says that the workers were sent to Cameroon without registering them as migrant labourers under the Interstate Migrant Workers (Regulation of Employment and Service Conditions) Act, 1979 and without obtaining the requisite license. The FIR has been lodged in the Hazaribagh, Bokaro, and Giridih districts of Jharkhand.
Pending salaries
The 47 Jharkhand workers, employed by M/s Transrail Lighting Limited in Cameroon, went to the African nation in August 2024. They have complained that their salary is pending for three months, and have demanded to return to India.
After getting information about the matter, Mr. Soren directed the State Migrant Control Room to take immediate action, after which it contacted the workers and the company. Transrail Lighting then said that the workers have been paid $100 per month, and that the balance amount will be transferred to their Indian accounts.
Speaking to The Hindu, Jharkhand Joint Labour Commissioner Rajesh Prasad said, “The workers have confirmed payment and we have asked the company to submit a copy of the contract, salary payment information and other documents. The Labour Department has sent a letter to POE (Protectors of Emigrants), Ranchi and other concerned departments and requested necessary action.”
Workers seek safe return
He added: “The State Migrant Control Room has again contacted the company and they have assured a quick settlement of the matter, according to which the outstanding salary payment of the workers will be resolved by talking to the sub-contractor. The outstanding amount will be transferred to their Indian accounts.”
The Indian High Commission and the Union Ministry of External Affairs have also said that Transrail Lighting Limited is in talks with the stranded workers and will resolve the demands for their safe return, their pending payments and documents.
The control room team is in constant touch with the officials and workers through email and phone and are taking efforts for the safe return of the worker. If the contractor fails to pay the full salary, the agreement with him will be cancelled, officials said.
This is not the first such case. In July 2024, Mr. Soren had intervened to ensure that 27 workers stranded in Cameroon returned safely to Jharkhand. The State Migrant Control Room is currently in the process of bringing back 50 workers stranded in Malaysia. They have reached Visakhapatnam and are likely to return home next week.
Published – December 12, 2024 08:21 pm IST
