39 Bangladeshi workers detained from a protest in Maldives
Some 39 Bangladeshi expatriate workers have been detained in the Maldives during a protest demanding payment of due wages.
The incident took place in the Hulhumale Island of the Maldives. A similar incident happened there last week.
About 700 expatriate Bangladeshis, working in the factory of Island Expert Private Limited there, are not being paid for four to five months. So 300 expatriates resigned from the company before the protest. Of them around 100 agitated workers staged a demonstration that led to a clash with the police.
In a statement today, Maldives Police said several police officers were injured after the protesting workers hurled bricks at the police officers, who went to the scene to control the situation. Few police vehicles were also vandalised.
After the clash, a team from the Special Operations Department's Public Safety and Response Unit was deployed to the scene to apprehend the workers.
Maldives Police further said strict legal actions will be taken against offenders and requested everyone to seek legal measure to resolve issues regarding due wages and other disagreements among employees and employers, instead of resorting to violence.
Earlier in a video message on July 9, Bangladesh High Commissioner in Maldives M Nazmul Hassan said, "We came to know many companies or employers have kept you [migrant workers] unpaid. We have been discussing the matter with the Maldivian government regularly, and they are sincerely trying to resolve it."
The message was posted on the high commission's social media page.
The high commissioner also urged Bangladeshi workers in there to not turn violent and get involved in vandalism, but to resolve the problem in a peaceful manner through discussion with their employers.