कतारमा आन्दोलनरत १२५ जना नेपालीहरुको भिषा खारेज

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Striking workers sacked Web posted at: 12/16/2006 7:32:21Source ::: The Peninsula

sponsor cancels visas of 125 nepalese restaurant employees on strike
DOHA ��� The ongoing strike by the Nepalese restaurant workers has turned into an anti-climax, with their sponsor cancelling their visas en-masse.
Their sponsor, an Indian, told The Peninsula yesterday that the visas of some 125 workers who were involved in the stir were cancelled on Thursday.
The first batch of the workers has already left for their home country. Exit permits would be issued to the remaining workers as and when they produce air tickets, the sponsor said.
This is, arguably, the first time in Qatar that a sponsor is cancelling work permits of employees en bloc due to a wage dispute.
Demanding better wages, 140-odd workers of a restaurant chain in Qatar had been on strike since December 10. The workers alleged that they were being forced to work for 14 hours a day without any overtime payment.
Although several rounds of discussions were held in the presence of senior Nepalese embassy officials, the issue could not be resolved. Later, it was also taken up with the labour department.
The sponsor of the workers claimed that the workers were influenced by some 'extraneous forces'. He said that they were getting more than what he had promised them in their job contracts.
He alleged that the workers were seeking revenge, for handing over two of their colleagues to the police, after they were caught red-handed in a criminal offence. He also claimed that he could convince both the Nepalese embassy and the Labour Department before cancelling the work permits of the striking workers.
"As per contract, the workers are elgible to get a monthly payment of QR600 to QR 700 only. But I could convince the concerned authorities that the workers were getting a monthly payment of QR1,000 to QR 1,100", he told this newspaper. The workers' pending dues of nine days' of wages were also paid before the cancellation of their work permits, he added.
Responding to the issue, Rajendra Pandey, Charge d��� Affaires at the Nepalese embassy here, had said he was convinced from the documents produced by the sponsor that there was little truth in the workers' claim. The workers were paid more than the salary agreed upon in their contracts, he had told this newspaper.
However, the workers had submitted a petition to the Labour department seeking its intervention. The sponsor cancelled their visas after meeting senior labour department officials.
Meanwhile, the strike has its bearing on the city's night-life, at least in the busy Njama area. Majority of the eateries here are part of this restaurant chain. These eateries are favourite joints of both expatriates and nationals. With the workers going on strike, the customers' favourite Chinese dishes have vanished from their menu cards.