A group of Sri Lankan laborers who tried to kill themselves after months of begging for food and shelter when their employer went out of business will each be given $3,000 and flown home for free, the Iraqi government said Wednesday.
Despairing because they hadn't been paid, 10 of the Sri Lankans climbed a building in Iraq's southern Maysan province and threatened to hang themselves in May before local officials intervened and promised to help. The Sri Lankans are among about 6,000 foreign workers in Iraq, most of whom live in meager conditions, get little pay and cannot afford to buy plane tickets to leave.
But with about 900,000 unemployed Iraqis, the government has been looking at ways to send foreign workers home to free up jobs for citizens.
In a statement Wednesday, government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said the workers would be paid and flown back to Sri Lanka, which they left in 2009 to take construction jobs in Maysan. He also said the government would sue the Talat Hussam-Din Co. that laid off the Sri Lankans when it ran out of money to finish the construction project.
"This is a positive step toward completely ending the misery of these helpless workers trapped in our province," Maysan provincial councilman Wail Salman said. "I am sure that this news will bring great relief to these workers who have been begging food from nearby villages."
AP
Despairing because they hadn't been paid, 10 of the Sri Lankans climbed a building in Iraq's southern Maysan province and threatened to hang themselves in May before local officials intervened and promised to help. The Sri Lankans are among about 6,000 foreign workers in Iraq, most of whom live in meager conditions, get little pay and cannot afford to buy plane tickets to leave.
But with about 900,000 unemployed Iraqis, the government has been looking at ways to send foreign workers home to free up jobs for citizens.
In a statement Wednesday, government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said the workers would be paid and flown back to Sri Lanka, which they left in 2009 to take construction jobs in Maysan. He also said the government would sue the Talat Hussam-Din Co. that laid off the Sri Lankans when it ran out of money to finish the construction project.
"This is a positive step toward completely ending the misery of these helpless workers trapped in our province," Maysan provincial councilman Wail Salman said. "I am sure that this news will bring great relief to these workers who have been begging food from nearby villages."
AP
