DOHA, 31 August 2005 — Some 600 foreign construction workers in Qatar, most of them Indians, have ended a strike launched several days ago to protest non-payment of salaries and poor living conditions.
The strike was called off Monday following a meeting with representatives of their employers and the National Human Rights Committee at the Indian Embassy, the second secretary in charge of labor at the mission, R. Chambre, said.
It was the first strike since Qatar’s constitution, which grants the right to strike, came into force in June.
The local contracting company “agreed to pay the salary arrears. The workers will get one month immediately and other (outstanding) months by the end of October,” Chambre said.
The firm will also pay for getting the workers residence permits and health facilities, while the NHRC, a Qatari government watchdog, will follow up the issue of the workers’ living conditions, she added.
Chambre said on Sunday that the workers — around 300 Indians and others from Sri Lanka and Nepal, in addition to some Egyptians — had been on strike for a few days in protest at their treatment by their employer.
Chambre said the laborers had not been paid for periods ranging from two to six months and did not have medical facilities.
NHRC secretary-general Ali ibn Sumaikh Al-Meri also confirmed that the strike was over, saying he was confident the company would live up to promises to pay outstanding salaries and improve the workers’ living conditions.
