Bahrain Tribune: Sponsors not ready to release workers

The majority of cases discussed at the Indian Embassy Open House yesterday related to sponsors’ unwillingness to release their workers.
A case in point was Kamaljit Singh who has been working for a construction company. He has not seen his family back home for six years.
“My sponsor is not willing to send me home. I requested him several times but he just ignored my pleas. I don’t have my C.P.R. and don’t know whether it has been renewed. Embassy officials have taken the details about my sponsor and will negotiate the matter with him.”
For Ponmeri Neroth Chathu who is battling for life at the Salmaniya Medical Complex after his kidneys failed, his sponsor’s intransigence is proving costly for him.

The majority of cases discussed at the Indian Embassy Open House yesterday related to sponsors’ unwillingness to release their workers.
A case in point was Kamaljit Singh who has been working for a construction company. He has not seen his family back home for six years.
“My sponsor is not willing to send me home. I requested him several times but he just ignored my pleas. I don’t have my C.P.R. and don’t know whether it has been renewed. Embassy officials have taken the details about my sponsor and will negotiate the matter with him.”
For Ponmeri Neroth Chathu who is battling for life at the Salmaniya Medical Complex after his kidneys failed, his sponsor’s intransigence is proving costly for him.
The free-visa worker said he paid BD800 to his sponsor and in return got a salary of BD40. “After completing his tenure of two years his sponsor asked him to pay for his ticket which he did. After three months the sponsor filed a case declaring Ponmeri as a runaway. The sponsor agreed to withdraw the case if he paid BD300. Ponmeri toiled hard and borrowed money from friends and paid the amount. We gave him the money but the sponsor demanded another BD300 to settle the case. It is absurd and unacceptable,” said Subair Kannur from the Bahrain Prathiba Society. The embassy promised to intervene.
Pramod Mangadath’s dream job turned into a nightmare when his employer refused to open the promised fruit and vegetable shop. “I did not find any job and started to work part-time to survive. I paid BD750 for a BD90 job which I never got,” Mangadath said.
“The sponsor demanded BD850 excluding ticket fare if I wanted to go back. I paid the money but have not yet received my passport. The sponsor is demanding more money.”

Article from: Bahrain Tribune Newspaper- www.BahrainTribune.com