Dubai: Over 1,200 workers, most of them Indians, of a major construction company in Bahrain went on strike demanding better pay packages and adequate facilities for themselves.

Employees of the GP Zacharides company, based in Durrat Al Bahrain, downed tools asking for hike in their salary. The workers participating in the strike belong to India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka. They said they would not call off their strike until the demands were met.

The strike comes days after Indian Ambassador Balkrishna Shetty revealed plans to institute a BD100 minimum wage for Indian workers in the Gulf.

"We have decided to halt work until we get a salary rise. All we get paid is a basic of BD57 despite the fact that companies are making huge profits from us," he said.

 Workers also complained that the firm does not provide adequate medical facilities to the workers. 

Source : PTI