About 48 migrant workers from Jharkhand are reportedly stranded in Tunisia, enduring severe hardships after being allegedly deceived by a recruitment firm. The workers, primarily from Hazaribagh, Giridih, and Bokaro districts, claim they were promised proper contracts and fair wages before departure.
However, upon reaching Tunisia, they were forced to work for over 12 hours a day without pay and threatened with imprisonment if they attempted to protest or return to India.
According to the stranded workers, salaries have not been paid for the past three to six months, leaving them without money for food or communication with their families. In video messages shared with Indian authorities and social activists, the workers said they were “starving" and “desperately waiting to return home."
As per reports, the employer, identified as Prem Power Construction Private Limited, has been accused of misleading the workers about their employment terms and refusing to release their pending wages.
Following the distress messages, the Jharkhand Labour Department has taken cognisance of the matter and established contact with the stranded workers. Officials from the department’s Migrant Control Cell have also reached out to the Indian Embassy in Tunisia to coordinate their safe return.
“We spoke to the migrant workers allegedly stranded by a private firm in Tunisia and are verifying their documents. We are also in touch with the Indian Embassy officials in Tunisia for arranging their safe return to their native places," said Shikha Lakra, team leader of the Migrant Control Cell.
Social activist Sikander Ali, who first raised the alarm, said that he received a video message from one of the workers, Sanjay Kumar from Giridih, late Thursday night. “I shared the message with the migrant cell and journalists, who forwarded it to the chief minister’s office on Friday," he told PTI.
Reports say the workers were employed through a Delhi-based private firm affiliated with a leading multinational company. They had been deployed for a project involving the installation of high-transmission power lines.
“The company has not paid them for the last three months and is forcing them to work overtime," said Ali. “This is causing them mental distress. They are being threatened and denied permission to return home."
The group includes 19 workers from Hazaribagh, 14 from Giridih, and 15 from Bokaro. Many have not eaten proper meals in weeks due to lack of money and food shortages in Tunisia, which is currently struggling with high inflation and supply chain disruptions.
Meanwhile efforts are underway to rescue the stranded men.
