Ranchi / Tunis: Forty-eight migrant workers from Jharkhand, currently stranded in Tunisia, have issued an urgent appeal to the Indian government seeking help for their safe return home. The workers allege that they have been unpaid for four months, are facing food shortages, and have been threatened with jail if they demand their dues.
In a video message shared on social media, the workers said they were recruited by Gurugram-based Prem Power Construction Private Limited, which had promised them eight-hour workdays and formal employment agreements. However, the reality turned out to be starkly different.
“We were told we’d get our agreement papers on reaching the work site. But after arriving, we were told it was contract work and no agreements were given,” said one of the workers in the video, joined by others from Giridih, Hazaribagh, and Bokaro districts.
They alleged that instead of the promised eight-hour shifts, they are being forced to work up to 12 hours daily. Despite repeated requests for payment, they claimed the company’s representatives have threatened them with imprisonment and warned that they would never be allowed to return to India.
“We haven’t received salaries for four months. We don’t even have money to buy food,” one worker said in distress.
The video, now circulating widely, has sparked concern among social activists and local leaders in Jharkhand.
Social activist Sikandar Ali urged both the state and central governments to take immediate diplomatic action to bring the stranded workers back.
Bagodar MLA Nagendra Mahato also expressed concern, stating that he would write to External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar demanding the safe release of the workers and the payment of their pending wages. Mahato further appealed for the workers to be provided security and consular assistance in Tunisia.
Among the stranded are 19 workers from Hazaribagh, 14 from Giridih, and 15 from Bokaro districts. The workers include names such as Amardeep Chaudhary, Jivadhan Mahato, Dhaneshwar Mahato, Nandlal Mahato, Santosh Mahato, Ajay Kumar, Gopal Mahato, and Subodh Marandi, among others.
Officials from Jharkhand’s Labour Department are expected to coordinate with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to verify the situation and initiate steps for their repatriation.
The incident has once again raised concerns over unsafe overseas recruitment practices, particularly involving private contractors sending unskilled labourers to foreign countries under misleading agreements.