Indian Embassy blacklists 45 Bahrain firms

DUBAI: As part of efforts to check abuse of rights of Indian workers in Bahrain, the Indian Embassy has blacklisted over 45 companies for violating local laws, including non-payment of salaries, mistreatment of employees and providing sub-standard accommodation.

Ambassador Balkrishna Shetty said these companies will not be granted permits to recruit workers from India until they rectify the problems.

"We studied the cases of such companies following several complaints from workers over the past one year," he was quoted as saying in the 'Gulf Daily News' on Thursday.

"The Indian Embassy will not allow such companies to recruit workers from India," said Shetty, adding 'we shall also refuse visas for the owners or their representatives to visit India.'

He has already notified Bahrain's Foreign Ministry that such employers are hampering the government's amnesty process, the envoy said.

"We were asking these companies just to follow the Bahraini law. Among those who violate the law are some leading construction companies that employ hundreds of Indian workers. The companies that failed to correct the situation have been put on a blacklist."

Companies which refuse to hand over the passports of workers during the amnesty period will also face the same fate, said Shetty.

He said since the launch of the amnesty scheme on August 1, the Indian Embassy had received applications from 3,150 nationals.

"Sixty-two per cent of them did not have their passports with them, and we are issuing emergency certificates or outpasses to such workers," he added.