Soren had also directed officials of a control room for migrant workers and the labour department to take appropriate steps to make sure that all the labourers in the power transmission company in Sri Lanka get their due payments.
The Jharkhand government on Friday said it has ensured the safe return of 19 workers stranded in Sri Lanka which is facing an unprecedented economic and energy crisis. The workers from the state were engaged as fitters by a firm in the island nation since February 18.
"Nineteen workers from Jharkhand stranded in Sri Lanka have come back home. They hail from Giridih, Hazaribagh and Dhanbad districts and had sought help from the state government on social media on April 2 to return from there. "After their appeal, Chief Minister Hemant Soren had requested External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka for help," a statement from the government said.
The development came on the heels of the state government's effort last month to bring back 10 of the 30 workers stuck in Malaysia. The administration had said the process to bring others back in the state was going on. Soren had also directed officials of a control room for migrant workers and the labour department to take appropriate steps to make sure that all the labourers in the power transmission company in Sri Lanka get their due payments.
"The workers stranded in Sri Lanka reported that their passports were confiscated by the contractor. They were not paid salaries and the authorities stopped paying for food," the official statement said. The state government's labour department contacted the Indian High Commission in the island country and other officials there to provide assistance to the workers, it said.
The control room authorities asked the contractor and the company to clear the dues of the workers. "The Indian High Commission and officials in Sri Lanka took cognisance of the matter and the workers were given food and security through the company," the statement said. Dues were paid to the workers on May 5 and air tickets for everyone were provided to return to the country. "All the workers reached Birsa Munda Airport, Ranchi at 2 pm," the statement added.
(With PTI inputs)