Muscat : The striking workers at the Muscat International Airport project reluctantly ended their protest against the private contractor - Bechtel-Enka-Bahwan Engineering Company's joint venture - but fear one of their missing colleagues is detained by police.
"We think that Pummy Singh, one of the vocal workers, has been detained after complaints from the management," a worker, who has started work, told Gulf News but requested not to be named for fear of being singled out.
"We have got back to work since this morning but about 200 of the workers have refused to accept the new overtime regulations and are being sent back by the company without any dues," the worker revealed.
He said that in the past they were paid higher overtime for working on Friday when the five-day week was not implemented in Oman.
"The over time earlier was almost three times," he said. "Now we had no choice but reluctantly accept wage plus 25 per cent for working overtime," he dejectedly said.
"We had no option after intervention from Manpower Ministry officials as well as embassy representatives," another worker told Gulf News on the condition of anonymity. "We have lost out in the bargain," he said, adding that earlier they used to get around 160-170 Omani riyals remuneration, including overtime.
"Now we will get a maximum of 131 riylas," he pointed out. Under the Omani labour laws, a worker is eligible for basic wage plus 25 per cent for overtime work.
He added that the workers wanted the company to follow the original agreement and continue paying more overtime that would earn each labourer an average of 160-170 riyals.
Salim Bin Saeed Al Badi, Director-General of Workers' Welfare at the Ministry of Manpower, told Gulf News that there was a major misunderstanding between the management and the workers about calculating the overtime.
He had urged workers to get back to work while the ministry officials negotiated with the workers; representatives as well as the management.
"Under the law workers must resume work as soon as negotiations start," he said.
The team from ministry worked hard to make workers understand the formula under the law.
"We respect workers' demands for fair working conditions and terms but nothing can be beyond the country's labour laws," he added.
