Ultimately, the Malaysian police had to intervene at the request of the High Commission of India in Malaysia which acted on emails sent by the state Labour department.
The Jharkhand government on Thursday said it has ensured the safe return of 10 of the 30 workers stranded in Malaysia while the process for the return of another 20 is on. The workers from the state who have been living and working in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur as labourers since 2019 had urged the Jharkhand government to ensure their return.
"Ten of the 20 workers stranded in Malaysia have been brought back to Jharkhand on the directions of Chief Minister Hemant Soren. The State Migrant Control Room and High Commission of India in Malaysia are in constant touch with the management of the company where the workers were working for the return of the remaining 20," a statement from the state government said.
Thirty workers from Giridih, Hazaribagh, and Bokaro who had gone to work in Malaysia and were trapped there had appealed to the state government through social media for their safe return, the statement said. The workers were engaged as linemen with an engineering and construction firm since January 30, 2019, and their contract expired on September 30, 2021.
The statement said that the workers were engaged by the firm till January 2022 without execution of a contract and no payment was made to them. Ultimately, the Malaysian police had to intervene at the request of the High Commission of India in Malaysia which acted on emails sent by the state Labour department.
"The State Migrant Control Room took action and asked the workers to share documents related to the case. The High Commission of India, Malaysia was asked by the Labour Department through mail to take cognisance of the incident. The Malaysia Police went to the scene (Lunas, Malaysia) to verify the incident and talked to the company for resolving the issue," the statement said.
The High Commission of India, Malaysia has ordered the company to pay everyone's dues soon and transfer them to Kuala Lumpur and arrange their tickets and food within 15 days, the statement said. The 10 workers would have returned in March but they were found to have contracted COVID-19 resulting in delays.
(With PTI inputs)